Irritability is a common and impairing occurrence in autistic youth, yet the underlying mechanisms are not well-known. In typically developing populations, differences in frustration response have been suggested as important driver of the behavioural symptoms of irritability. Research exploring the role of frustration response as a risk factor for irritability in autistic populations is limited and often uses parent report or observer ratings; objective measures of frustration response appropriate for use in autistic populations are required to advance the field. In the current study, fifty-two autistic adolescents aged 13–17 years from a population-based longitudinal study completed an experimental task designed to induce frustration through exposure to periods of unexpected delay. Behavioural (number of button presses) and physiological (heart rate; HR) metrics were collected during delay periods. Irritability was measured using the parent-rated Affective Reactivity Index (ARI). Analyses used mixed-level models to test whether irritability was associated with different slopes of behavioural and physiological response to experimentally induced frustration during the task. Age and baseline HR (for the physiological data only) were included as covariates. Analyses showed a marginal association between irritability and the slope of behavioural response (incident rate ratio (IRR) =.98, p=.06), and a significant association with the slope of physiological response (b=−.10, p=.04); higher levels of irritability were associated with a dampened behavioural and physiological response, as indicated by flatter slopes of change over the course of the task. The pattern of results largely remained in sensitivity analyses, although the association with physiological response became non-significant when adjusting for IQ, autism symptom severity, and medication use (b=−.10, p=.10). Results suggest that the current experimental task may be a useful objective measure of frustration response for use with autistic populations, and that a non-adaptive response to frustration may be one biological mechanism underpinning irritability in autistic youth. This may represent an important target for future intervention studies.

中文翻译：

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自闭症青少年对挫折的行为和生理反应：与易怒的关联

易怒是自闭症青少年常见且有害的现象，但其潜在机制尚不为人所知。在典型的发展中人群中，挫折反应的差异被认为是易怒行为症状的重要驱动因素。探索挫折反应作为自闭症人群易怒风险因素的作用的研究是有限的，并且经常使用父母报告或观察者评级；需要适用于自闭症人群的挫折反应的客观测量来推进该领域。在目前的研究中，来自一项基于人群的纵向研究的 52 名 13 至 17 岁的自闭症青少年完成了一项实验任务，该任务旨在通过暴露于意外延迟时期来诱发挫败感。在延迟期间收集行为（按钮按下次数）和生理（心率；HR）指标。使用父母评定的情感反应指数（ARI）测量易怒性。分析使用混合水平模型来测试烦躁是否与在任务期间对实验引起的挫折的不同行为和生理反应斜率相关。年龄和基线 HR（仅用于生理数据）作为协变量包括在内。分析显示，易怒与行为反应的斜率之间存在边际关联（事件率比 (IRR) =.98，p=.06），并且与生理反应的斜率有显着关联（b=-.10，p=. 04); 较高程度的易怒与行为和生理反应减弱有关，正如任务过程中变化的平缓斜率所表明的那样。结果模式在敏感性分析中基本保持不变，尽管在调整智商、自闭症症状严重程度和药物使用时与生理反应的关联变得不显着（b=-.10，p=.10）。结果表明，当前的实验任务可能是用于自闭症人群的挫折反应的有用客观测量，并且对挫折的非适应性反应可能是自闭症青年易怒的一种生物学机制。这可能是未来干预研究的一个重要目标。和药物使用 (b=−.10, p=.10)。结果表明，当前的实验任务可能是用于自闭症人群的挫折反应的有用客观测量，并且对挫折的非适应性反应可能是自闭症青年易怒的一种生物学机制。这可能是未来干预研究的一个重要目标。和药物使用 (b=−.10, p=.10)。结果表明，当前的实验任务可能是用于自闭症人群的挫折反应的有用客观测量，并且对挫折的非适应性反应可能是自闭症青年易怒的一种生物学机制。这可能是未来干预研究的一个重要目标。