Social anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Social anxiety is characterized by cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms before and/or during social situations, concerning a tendency for avoiding interactions. Autistic children and adolescents often experience social anxiety when interacting with other people, associated with their challenges in social communication and interaction. In this manuscript, we aim to examine social anxiety in autistic children and adolescents by considering different risk and protective factors in its development in this clinical group. Particular attention will be given to the severity of autistic symptoms and social functioning, demographic factors, socio-emotional aspects, negative thoughts and worries, cognitive abilities and family's factors. Internal regulatory processes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) when navigating social events will be also taken into account, thus physiological responses toward social stimuli will be analyzed in their apparent relation with self-reported social anxiety. Finally, interventions aimed at reducing social anxiety in autistic children and adolescents (e.g., CBT) will be described.