Brief report:effects of sensory sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty on anxiety in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder

This study examined the relations between anxiety and individual characteristics of sensory sensitivity (SS) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in mothers of children with ASD. The mothers of 50 children completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale and the IU Scale. Anxiety was associated with both SS and IU and IU was also associated with SS. Mediation analyses showed direct effects between anxiety and both IU and SS but a significant indirect effect was found only in the model in which IU mediated between SS. This is the first study to characterize the nature of the IU and SS interrelation in predicting levels of anxiety

Describing the profile of diagnostic features in autistic adults using an abbreviated version of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-Abbreviated)

The rate of diagnosis of autism in adults has increased over recent years; however, the profile of behaviours in these individuals is less understood than the profile seen in those diagnosed in childhood. Better understanding of this profile will be essential to identify and remove potential barriers to diagnosis. Using an abbreviated form of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders, comparisons were drawn between the profile of a sample of able adults diagnosed in adulthood and the profile of a sample of able children. Results revealed both similarities and differences. A relative strength in non-verbal communication highlighted a potential barrier to diagnosis according to DSM-5 criteria for the adult sample, which may also have prevented them from being diagnosed as children

Increased Sensory Processing Atypicalities in Parents of Multiplex ASD Families Versus Typically Developing and Simplex ASD Families

Recent studies have suggested that sensory processing atypicalities may share genetic influences with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To further investigate this, the adolescent/adult sensory profile (AASP) questionnaire was distributed to 85 parents of typically developing children (P-TD), 121 parents from simplex ASD families (SPX), and 54 parents from multiplex ASD families (MPX). After controlling for gender and presence of mental disorders, results showed that MPX parents significantly differed from P-TD parents in all four subscales of the AASP. Differences between SPX and MPX parents reached significance in the Sensory Sensitivity subscale and also in subsequent modality-specific analyses in the auditory and visual domains. Our finding that parents with high genetic liability for ASD (i.e., MPX) had more sensory processing atypicalities than parents with low (i.e., SPX) or no (i.e., P-TD) ASD genetic liability suggests that sensory processing atypicalities may contribute to the genetic susceptibility for ASD

The Adult Repetitive Behaviours Questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2A): A Self-Report Measure of Restricted and Repetitive Behaviours

In two studies we developed and tested a new self-report measure of restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) suitable for adults. In Study 1, The Repetitive Behaviours Questionnaire-2 for adults (RBQ-2A) was completed by a sample of 163 neurotypical adults. Principal components analysis revealed two components: Repetitive Motor Behaviours and Insistence on Sameness. In Study 2, the mean RBQ-2A scores of a group of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 29) were compared to an adult neurotypical group (N = 37). The ASD sample had significantly higher total and subscale scores. These results indicate that the RBQ-2A has utility as a self-report questionnaire measure of RRBs suitable for adults, with potential clinical application

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the brief Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale for adults on the autism spectrum

Resilience is an increasingly popular concept in literature as a protective factor against mental ill-health. While elevated rates of anxiety and mood disorders occur in adults on the autism spectrum, there is a gap in literature investigating the application of resilience to this population. This brief report examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the 10-item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale in a sample of 95 autistic adults (Mage = 44). Our findings provide evidence for a unidimensional structure and robust psychometric properties of the scale in an autistic population, in line with factorial studies involving the general population. Lay Abstract: Adults on the autism spectrum experience high rates of anxiety and depression, and may be particularly vulnerable to difficult and traumatic life experiences, which may contribute to the development and maintenance of these conditions. Resilience is an increasingly popular concept in research, which describes the ability to ‘bounce back’ following difficult emotional experiences, and the flexibility to adapt to stressful and demanding situations. The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale has been used predominantly in studies involving non-autistic adults to measure resilience. While resilience is a potentially important concept for autistic adults, the suitability of the 10-item version of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale for use with adults on the spectrum has not yet been studied. In this short report, we investigate whether the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 10 is a valid measure to use with this population, and its relationship with other measures of mental well- or ill-being. Participants were 95 autistic adults with a mean age of 44 (63% female) who completed measures of resilience, autism symptoms, depression, anxiety and mental wellbeing. Overall, the findings indicate that the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 10 may be reliably used with autistic adults to measure trait resilience, which is associated with positive wellbeing and may serve as a protective factor from negative mental wellbeing. Future studies may use the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 10 to investigate resilience as a protective factor from negative mental health outcomes in response to traumatic and adverse emotional events for which autistic individuals may be particularly susceptible

Brief report: Cross-sectional interactions between expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal and its relationship with depressive symptoms in autism spectrum disorder

Background The aim of this study was to explore and characterize the nature of the inter-relationship between cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms. Method One hundred and twenty-one adolescents and adults with ASD aged 14–79 years (Mage = 32.18; SDage = 15.71) completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Autism Spectrum Quotient-Short (AQ-Short). Individuals were recruited into two nation-wide studies. Participants self-reported a clinical diagnosis of ASD and had an AQ-Short score above the suggested cut-off of 65. Correlation and regression analyses, independent-samples t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis, and post-hoc Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted. Results Higher depression levels were related to high suppression and low reappraisal use. Both suppression and reappraisal predicted variance in symptoms of depression over and above ASD traits. Individuals who self-reported high suppression and low reappraisal use expressed higher depressive symptoms than individuals who reported high use of both suppression and reappraisal. Conclusions This is the first study in ASD that aimed to characterize the interactions between adaptive (reappraisal) and maladaptive (suppression) strategy use. Our results demonstrate that reappraisal may serve as a protective factor for mental health in individuals who habitually use maladaptive strategies such as suppression

Emotion regulation in autism: Reappraisal and suppression interactions

Emotion regulation has been proposed to be a transdiagnostic factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathology in the general population, yet the nature of the relationships between emotion regulation strategy use and psychological well-being has not been comprehensively explored in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to assess how the individual differences in self-reported emotion regulation strategy use relate to levels of both positive and negative psychological well-being. In total, 56 individuals with ASD aged 14–24 years (M age = 18.15; SD age = 2.30) completed Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 Generalized Anxiety Disorder Dimensional Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and Autism-Spectrum Quotient – Short. Individuals were grouped into four clusters based on their Emotion Regulation Questionnaire subscale scores. Individuals in the high suppression and low reappraisal group expressed higher depressive symptoms and lower positive well-being when compared with the low suppression and high reappraisal group. Interestingly, individuals who self-reported using both high suppression and reappraisal expressed relatively high positive well-being and low depression symptoms. We suggest that the maladaptive effect of habitual suppression usage may be buffered by the habitual use of reappraisal, and this interaction between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategy use has clinical implications

Imitating the child with autism: A strategy for early intervention?

Research indicates that imitation is a promising strategy for early intervention with children who have autism. Using a single case design we studied the effectiveness of an established imitation-based intervention, Intensive Interaction, for two 3-year-olds with autism. Outcome measures were the propensity to give social attention during imitation sessions and during free play with a researcher. Social attention did not increase over the course of the intervention phase for either child, nor during free play with the researcher. Thus, there was no evidence of intervention effectiveness