Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviour: Insights Directly from Young People with ASD.
Teens with autism can tell you their rituals rise with anxiety, so interview them, not just parents.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Richards et al. (2017) asked teens and young adults with autism about their own repetitive behaviors.
They used short interviews so the youth could speak for themselves, not just parents.
The team wanted to know if these young people link their rituals to feeling anxious.
What they found
The youth clearly said, "When I feel unsure or worried, I flap, line things up, or stick to my routine."
Their words matched the old caregiver data: more anxiety went with more repetitive behavior.
The study showed self-report works; you can trust teens to tell you why they repeat actions.
How this fits with other research
Król et al. (2019) found the same link in preschoolers, but parents spoke for the kids.
Uljarević et al. (2017) saw the pattern too, yet they asked about fear instead of anxiety.
Harrop et al. (2024) widened the lens: rigidity predicted anxiety in both autistic and non-autistic youth.
Spackman et al. (2025) stretched it further, showing the tie holds across autism, ADHD, and OCD.
Why it matters
You no longer need to guess why a teen lines up toys or checks locks. Ask them. Add one open question to your intake: "What do you feel right before you do the ritual?" Their answer will guide your anxiety intervention and show respect for their voice.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In order to investigate the experience of anxiety and restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) in young people with ASD, 19 families with young people with ASD aged between 13 and 20 years completed questionnaire measures of RRB, anxiety, and intolerance of uncertainty. Ten young people also completed a novel semi-structured interview exploring an individualised example of an RRB. Findings demonstrated that young people with ASD can self-report and show insight in to their RRB, and replicated previous findings based on parent report showing a significant positive relationship between RRB and anxiety. This is the first evidence of young person self-report using both quantitative and qualitative data and indicates a range of reasons why young people may engage in RRB.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3027-2