Anxious imagery in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: an investigation into occurrence, content, features and implications for therapy
Anxious imagery in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: an investigation into occurrence, content, features and implications for therapy
Mental imagery has been implicated in anxiety disorders in adults, but has not been investigated in child and adolescent populations. Anxiety is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and as people with ASD are often thought of as ‘visual thinkers’, the potential role of distressing imagery in children with ASD merits exploration. Participants aged 8–16 years were grouped as follows: ASD/high anxiety, ASD/low anxiety, non-ASD/high anxiety and non-ASD/low anxiety. Imagery and associated features were assessed using an interview. Group differences were found in number and frequency of images experienced. There were few differences between the groups in the characteristics of the spontaneous images, which included emotional valence, vividness, controllability and realism. Implications for treatment are discussed.
3822–3832
Ozsivadjian, A.
9d9591c8-c8a9-450b-844b-cb03b23a43f5
Hollocks, M.J.
37782979-571e-4d5e-95a3-ca8380da6bf7
Southcott, J.
c0340b73-b828-45f7-9cad-4299e7fa5a8e
Absoud, M.
acd51a51-9b31-4984-8f80-49028a27e30e
Holmes, E.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
2016
Ozsivadjian, A.
9d9591c8-c8a9-450b-844b-cb03b23a43f5
Hollocks, M.J.
37782979-571e-4d5e-95a3-ca8380da6bf7
Southcott, J.
c0340b73-b828-45f7-9cad-4299e7fa5a8e
Absoud, M.
acd51a51-9b31-4984-8f80-49028a27e30e
Holmes, E.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
Ozsivadjian, A., Hollocks, M.J., Southcott, J., Absoud, M. and Holmes, E.
(2016)
Anxious imagery in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: an investigation into occurrence, content, features and implications for therapy.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47, .
(doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2840-3).
Abstract
Mental imagery has been implicated in anxiety disorders in adults, but has not been investigated in child and adolescent populations. Anxiety is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and as people with ASD are often thought of as ‘visual thinkers’, the potential role of distressing imagery in children with ASD merits exploration. Participants aged 8–16 years were grouped as follows: ASD/high anxiety, ASD/low anxiety, non-ASD/high anxiety and non-ASD/low anxiety. Imagery and associated features were assessed using an interview. Group differences were found in number and frequency of images experienced. There were few differences between the groups in the characteristics of the spontaneous images, which included emotional valence, vividness, controllability and realism. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Text
s10803-016-2840-3
- Version of Record
More information
Published date: 2016
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 508146
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508146
ISSN: 0162-3257
PURE UUID: a4fd8821-bf3a-4b47-8f12-90df23557b7a
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 13 Jan 2026 18:08
Last modified: 14 Jan 2026 03:12
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
A. Ozsivadjian
Author:
M.J. Hollocks
Author:
J. Southcott
Author:
M. Absoud
Author:
E. Holmes
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics