Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
Department of Pediatrics, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0392, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 7;14(1):23334. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-73628-w.
A recent theoretical cognitive model posits that three cognitive constructs-intolerance of uncertainty, lack of predictive processing, and dichotomous thinking-may interact with anxiety in autistic individuals. However, the interrelationships among these constructs remain unclear. We investigated this relationship in a non-clinical population using five questionnaires (Autism Spectrum Quotient, Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire, Short Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Dichotomous Thinking Inventory) and conducted a path analysis. Data were collected from 405 adults (aged 20-22 years) in Experiment 1 and 628 (aged 20-49 years) in Experiment 2. In both experiments, autistic traits were significantly associated with both anxiety and dichotomous thinking, mediated by intolerance of uncertainty. Autistic traits were linked to intolerance of uncertainty, mediated by atypical sensory processing. Furthermore, autistic traits were directly associated with anxiety. No direct association was observed between anxiety and dichotomous thinking. Our results confirm the validity of Stark's cognitive model in a non-clinical population. These findings provide new insights into anxiety and dichotomous thinking and shed light on the cognitive styles of autistic individuals.
最近的一个理论认知模型假设，在自闭症个体中，三种认知结构——不确定性容忍度、缺乏预测加工和二分思维——可能与焦虑相互作用。然而，这些结构之间的相互关系仍不清楚。我们在非临床人群中使用五个问卷（自闭症谱系商数、格拉斯哥感觉问卷、短期不确定性容忍量表、宾夕法尼亚州担忧问卷和二分思维量表）进行了研究，并进行了路径分析。数据来自于实验 1 中的 405 名成年人（年龄 20-22 岁）和实验 2 中的 628 名成年人（年龄 20-49 岁）。在两个实验中，自闭症特征与焦虑和二分思维都显著相关，不确定性容忍度起中介作用。自闭症特征与不确定性容忍度有关，这是由非典型的感觉加工介导的。此外，自闭症特征与焦虑直接相关。焦虑与二分思维之间没有直接关联。我们的研究结果在非临床人群中证实了 Stark 的认知模型的有效性。这些发现为焦虑和二分思维提供了新的见解，并揭示了自闭症个体的认知风格。
