The interplay between anxiety and social functioning in Williams syndrome.
In Williams syndrome, parent-reported anxiety directly tracks social skill level at every age.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked parents of 119 people with Williams syndrome about their child's anxiety and social skills.
Kids and adults took part. Parents filled out two checklists: one for anxiety, one for social abilities.
What they found
Higher anxiety scores matched weaker social skills across all ages.
The most anxious third of the group showed the poorest social functioning.
How this fits with other research
Falcomata et al. (2012) mapped Williams syndrome growth curves. They showed cognitive and adaptive skills follow their own track. Whitehouse et al. (2014) adds anxiety as a key piece of that picture.
Aponte et al. (2025) found the same anxiety-social link in autistic adults. This shows the pattern holds beyond Williams syndrome and across the lifespan.
Adams et al. (2020) and Adams et al. (2025) link child anxiety to lower quality of life and school refusal in autism. Together, these papers say anxiety drags down daily life in many developmental conditions.
Why it matters
If you serve a client with Williams syndrome, screen for anxiety even when social deficits are the main concern. Treating anxiety may unlock better social gains. Use simple rating scales parents can complete in the waiting room.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The developmental disorder Williams syndrome (WS) has been associated with an atypical social profile of hyper-sociability and heightened social sensitivity across the developmental spectrum. In addition, previous research suggests that both children and adults with WS have a predisposition towards anxiety. The current research aimed to explore the profiles of social behaviour and anxiety across a broad age range of individuals with the disorder (n = 59, ages 6-36 years). We used insights from parental reports on two frequently used measures, the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Severity of anxiety was correlated with a greater degree of social dysfunction as measured by the SRS in this group. We split the group according to high or low anxiety as measured by the SCAS-P and explored the profile of social skills for the two groups. Individuals high and low in anxiety differed in their social abilities. The results emphasise the need to address anxiety issues in this disorder and to consider how components of anxiety might relate to other features of the disorder.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2014 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1984-7