The associations of sensory processing, anxiety, and clinical symptoms of autism in children: the mediating role of mother-child relationship

Objectives This study investigated the connections between sensory processing, anxiety, and the clinical symptoms of autism, with the mediating role of the mother-child relationship in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Methods Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) in a cross-sectional study, a sample of 266 children with ASD between 9 and 11 years was selected through purposive sampling. Data collection involved the use of the Autism Spectrum Quotient Children’s Version (ASQ-Child), the Sensory Processing Measure: Home Form (SPM-HF), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale-Parent Version (SCAS-P), and the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS).Results Sensory processing, anxiety, and the child-parent relationship have significant associations with the clinical symptoms of autism. Also, sensory processing and anxiety have a significant indirect relationship with the clinical symptoms of autism through the mother-child relationship as a mediator. Sensory processing, anxiety, and the mother-child interaction collectively accounted for 71.8% of the variance in the clinical symptoms of autism.Conclusion Findings demonstrated a fitting model for the direct and indirect associations of sensory processing and anxiety with the clinical symptoms of autism, and the mediating role of the mother-child relationship. This model has implications for psychotherapeutic and community-based interventions in children with ASD.