What factors influence dyadic synchrony? A systematic review of the literature on predictors of mother-infant dyadic processes of shared behaviour and affect

Dyadic behavioral synchrony is a complex interactional process that takes place between the mother and her infant. In the first year of life, when the infant is prelinguistic, processes such as synchrony enable the dyad to communicate through shared behavior and affect. To date, no systematic review has been carried out to understand the risk and protective factors that influence behavioral synchrony in the mother–infant dyad. The aim of this review was to identify and evaluate the factors that influence behavioral synchrony in the mother–infant dyad, when the infant is between 3 and 9 months old. Key electronic databases were searched between 1970 and April 2021, and 28 eligible studies were identified for review. As the results were largely heterogeneous, four subgroups of factors were identified: (i) infant demographics, (ii) physiological factors, (iii) maternal mental health, and (iv) miscellaneous factors. Identified risk factors and covariates suggest that social determinants of health, underpinned by biological factors, play a large role in influencing behavioral synchrony within the dyad. Implications for the need to identify additional risk and protective factors, as well as design support for at‐risk families are discussed

Sensory processing and eating behaviours in autism:A systematic review

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between sensory processing and a broad range of eating behaviours across the lifespan. METHODS: Five electronic databases of published and unpublished quantitative studies were systematically searched, evaluated for risk of bias and synthesised according to identified eating outcomes. RESULTS: Across 25 studies, there was consistent evidence of a relationship between sensory processing and a range of eating behaviours. There was early evidence for the particular role of taste/smell sensitivities, as well as hypersensitivities, although future research is needed looking at different sensory patterns and modalities. There was also tentative evidence to suggest this relationship extends across development. DISCUSSION: Study findings are discussed in relation to implications for sensory‐based eating and feeding interventions and the development of eating disorders. Methodological and conceptual limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are made to address these limitations. A broader investigation of multi‐sensory issues and clearly defined eating behaviours, including disordered eating in clinically diagnosed samples, will allow for a more comprehensive and robust understanding of the relationship between sensory processing and eating behaviours in autism

“You feel like you kind of walk between the two worlds”:A participatory study exploring how technology can support emotion regulation for Autistic people

An increasing amount of technological solutions aiming to support emotion regulation are being developed for Autistic people. However, there remains a lack of understanding of user needs, and design factors which has led to poor usability and varied success. Furthermore, studies assessing the feasibility of emotion regulation technology via physiological signals for autistic people are increasingly showing promise, yet to date there has been no exploration of views from the autistic community on the benefits/challenges such technology may present in practice. Focus groups with autistic people and their allies were conducted to gain insight into experiences and expectations of technological supports aimed at supporting emotion regulation. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes: (1) communication challenges (2) views on emotion regulation technology (3) ‘how’ technology is implemented. Results provide meaningful insight into the socio-emotional communication challenges faced by autistic people, and explore the expectations of technology aimed at supporting emotion regulation

Understanding the neurodiversity of grief:A systematic literature review of experiences of grief and loss in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders

This systematic review explores lived experiences of grief in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), considering mental health impacts and how these experiences are expressed/understood. Reviewing qualitative research and grey literature centred on lived experience, 39 articles were identified through a systematic search of 8 databases and 1 page-ranked search engine. The articles were critically appraised, and results synthesised using thematic analysis and meta-synthesis. Four main themes and an overarching theme, titled Recognise the Unrecognised, emerged: Hidden Grief, Supported and Included, Understanding My Loss, and The Double Taboo of Death and Disability. The results indicate that grief often goes unrecognised in individuals with NDDs, especially following non-death losses. The implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) - Looking beyond the eating disorder lens?

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) was first included as a diagnostic category in 2013, and over the past 10 years has been adopted by the international eating disorder community. While greater awareness of these difficulties has increased identification, demand and enabled advocacy for clinical services, the heterogeneous nature of ARFID poses unique challenges for eating disorder clinicians and researchers. This commentary aims to reflect on some of these challenges, focussing specifically on the risk of viewing ARFID through an eating disorder lens. This includes potential biases in the literature as most recent research has been conducted in specialist child and adolescent eating disorder clinic settings, bringing in to question the generalisability of findings to the broad spectrum of individuals affected by ARFID. We also consider whether viewing ARFID predominantly through an eating disorder lens risks us as a field being blinkered to the range of effective skills our multi-disciplinary feeding colleagues may bring. There are opportunities that may come with the eating disorder field navigating treatment pathways for ARFID, including more joined up working with multi-disciplinary colleagues, the ability to transfer skills used in ARFID treatment to individuals with eating disorder presentations, and most notably an opportunity to provide more effective treatment and service pathways for individuals with ARFID and their families. However, these opportunities will only be realised if eating disorder clinicians and researchers step out of their current silos

A mixed-methods investigation into sensory, social and emotional factors in the overlap between autism and anorexia nervosa

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that around a third of individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) are Autistic. Despite this elevated prevalence, underlying mechanisms of this overlap remain poorly understood, with early work implicating a range of factors including sensory, social and emotional factors. Autistic individuals with AN have been reported to have poorer eating disorder (ED) treatment outcomes and experiences compared to their non-Autistic peers, such as longer and more frequent inpatient stays, more severe ED symptomology and a greater detriment to psychosocial functioning. Therefore, to provide more effective support, it is imperative to identify underlying factors. The current thesis aims are to explore the possible role of sensory, social and emotional factors in autism and AN, seeking to identify both shared and autism-specific differences that may help untangle the overlap between the two. METHODS: Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the current thesis draws on several methodologies to address overarching thesis aims. Firstly, a systematic review was conducted to explore the relationship between sensory processing and eating behaviours in autism across the lifespan. Secondly, a qualitative study was conducted to explore experiences of sensory and social factors with Autistic and non-Autistic adults and their parents. Finally, an observational study was conducted to explore group differences in nonverbal social communication behaviours, as well as to explore the relationship between non-verbal behaviours and sensory and emotional factors. RESULTS: Thesis findings suggest that investigated factors play an important yet inter-twined role in the overlap between autism and AN. Sensory processing was found to be play an important role in Autistic experiences of AN, with tentative evidence to suggest that sensory differences may be integral in discriminating between Autistic and non-Autistic individuals. Key differences in social interactions and communication were also identified in the qualitative study, however this was not supported by quantitative findings. Finally, emotional difficulties, particularly alexithymia (being able to identify and describe your own emotions) were found to play an important role in experiences of AN and were tentatively linked with sensory and social factors. DISCUSSION: Results from the current thesis tentatively highlight targets for future ED interventions, as well the need to acknowledge and adapt for the heterogenous Autistic experience. Not only could this involve modifying current ED interventions, but it also could involve the development of novel, neurodiverse-affirming approaches. Future research should continue to adopt a mixed-method approach and extend research focus to a broader range of ED diagnoses. Such research studies should include participatory approaches, from the designing of studies to the active role of those with lived/living experience in conducting the research, thereby ensuring that future research reflects the priorities and realities of Autistic individuals with EDs

A linguistic analysis of future narratives in adolescents with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and their pain-free peers.

Background. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain conditionthat often develops after injury, with a typical onset in adolescence. The impact ofchronic pain is far-reaching, with many adolescents reporting atypical developmental trajectories compared with peers. Social Comparison Theory offers a framework forunderstanding how such comparisons influence wellbeing, whereby a heightened sense of disparity places adolescents at risk of poor cognitive, affective and socialoutcomes. Using a novel linguistic analysis programme, this study aims to investigate cognitive, affective and social language used by adolescents with CRPS in comparisonto their peers during a task reflecting on their futures.Methods. A story completion task was completed by adolescents with CPRS (n=49)and adolescents without pain (n=48). This task involved asking adolescents to describe their imagined future. Narratives were analysed using a novel linguistic analysisprogramme, focusing on the cognitive, affective and social dimensions.Results. Findings revealed significant group differences in how adolescents withCRPS described their imagined futures. Adolescents with CRPS used significantlyfewer positive affect and more negative affect, anger and sadness words, and greaterinsight and discrepancy words. No significant groups differences were found for socialwords.Conclusions. Substantial differences in cognitive and affective words were foundbetween adolescents with and without CRPS. Findings provide novel insights into current understandings of cognitive, affective and social processes in adolescents living with chronic pain, particularly with regard to adolescent developmental trajectories, and may in turn highlight potential targets in psychosocial interventions for adolescents living with chronic pain

Distress and resilience narratives within pain memories of adolescents and young adults with complex regional pain syndrome : A multi-method study

A comprehensive understanding of pain memories requires consideration of risk and resilience factors across biopsychosocial domains. Previous research has typically focused on pain-related outcomes, largely ignoring the nature and context of pain memories. Using a multiple-method approach, this study explores the content and context of pain memories in adolescents and young adults with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Recruited via social media and pain-related organizations, participants completed an autobiographical pain memory task. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted on the pain memory narratives of adolescents and young adults with CRPS (n=50) using a modified version of the Pain Narrative Coding Scheme. Narrative profiles generated from the cluster analysis subsequently guided a deductive thematic analysis. Cluster analysis identified two narrative profiles of Distress and Resilience, with the role of coping and positive affect emerging as important profile predictors across pain memories. Subsequent deductive thematic analysis, utilizing Distress and Resilience codes, demonstrated the complex interplay between affect, social, and coping domains. Findings highlight the importance of applying a biopsychosocial framework to pain memory research, accounting for both risk and resilience perspectives and encourage the use of multiple method approaches to improve understanding of autobiographic pain memories. Clinical implications of reframing and recontextualizing pain memories and narratives are discussed, and the importance of exploring the origins of pain and possible application to developing resilience-based, preventative interventions is highlighted.Output Status: Forthcomin