The association between social responsivity and depression in high-functioning boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

The links between behaviours related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and depression were investigated in a sample of 90 pre-adolescents (M age = 8.8 yr) and 60 adolescent males (M age = 14.6 yr). Parents completed the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Depression subscale from the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory (CASI-D). Pre-adolescents had significantly higher SRS scores than adolescents, and there were also differences in the associations between SRS subscales and depression across the two age groups. Pre-adolescents’ feelings of depression, worthlessness/guilt and fatigue were associated with their lack of self-confidence in social interactions; their anhedonia and fatigue were associated with feeling tense in social situations. Adolescents’ feelings of depression and worthlessness/guilt were associated with touching others unusually.