The relationship between chronotype and depression, anxiety problems and parental anxiety, depression in healthy siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder

Objective: The aim of this study was to comparatively examine the chronotype and anxiety and depression levels of healthy siblings of children diagnosed with ASD and healthy children without ASD siblings, and to evaluate the relationship of these findings with parental depression, anxiety levels and the degree of autism in ASD-diagnosed siblings. Method: The study included 30 siblings of children diagnosed with ASD aged 6-12 years (cases) and 30 healthy children aged 6-12 years without ASD (controls). All participants were administered the Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Scale for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version-Turkish Adaptation (K-SADS-PL-T) to exclude psychopathologies. The participants were given the Childhood Depression Inventory (CDI), Childhood Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) to determine their anxiety and depression levels, and the Sociodemographic Data Form was administered by the clinician. The parents of the participants were asked to complete the Children's Chronotype Questionnaire (CCTQ) to determine the chronotype of their children included in the study and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to determine the depression and anxiety levels of the parents. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was administered by the clinician to determine the severity of autism in the siblings of the case group. Results: There was no difference found between the groups in terms of the type of chronotype and the CCTQ score. The case group had higher CDI and SCARED scores compared to the control group. No correlation was found between the CARS score and the scores of the CCTQ, CDI and SCARED scores. BDI and State Anxiety (A-state) scores of the case group parents and maternal Trait anxiety (A-trait) scores were found to be significantly higher, but there was no significant difference only in the paternal A-state, and no relationship between these scores and CARS score was found. It was found that there was a statistically positive and weak relationship between CDI scores and maternal A-state scores. There was no statistically significant relationship between the CDI scores and the BDI, maternal A-trait, paternal STAI scores of the parents. There was no correlation between the SCARED score and the BDI, STAI scores of the parents. There was no correlation between the CCTQ score and the BDI, STAI scores of the parents. Conclusion: Although there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of chronotype, Considering that siblings and parents of children diagnosed with ASD have higher levels of depression anxiety and depression scores of healthy siblings are affected by the mother's trait anxiety level,and the presence of ASD, regardless of its severity, affects the level of anxiety and depression in the sibling. it is thought that it is important to make early intervention, diagnosis and treatment plans for the families and healthy siblings of individuals diagnosed with ASD. Keywords: ASD, Siblings, Chronotype, Depression, Anxiety, Parent