ABSTRACT

Objective

Emotion dysregulation problems are prevalent and disruptive for many with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study compared severity and perceived change in emotion dysregulation in youth with and without ASD and probed correlates of emotion dysregulation (including possible two-way interactions) among youth with ASD.

Method

Participants were drawn from two large online samples (mean age = 12; range: 6–17) with (N = 1323) and without (N = 921) ASD. The study used the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI), a parent-report measure designed for youth with ASD. The EDI asks parents about current severity and perceived change (i.e. how current severity compares to lifetime severity) in emotion dysregulation, and includes two factors: Reactivity (rapidly escalating, intense negative affect) and Dysphoria (poorly upregulated positive affect, general unease).

Results

Results indicated that youth with ASD had greater Reactivity severity and also greater positive change in Reactivity than non-ASD peers. Furthermore, differences between youth with and without ASD in the relationship between Reactivity and Dysphoria suggest a distinct profile of emotion dysregulation in ASD. Within the ASD sample, age and severity of stereotyped behavior predicted Reactivity and Dysphoria severity and Reactivity change. Female gender, lower parent education, and fluent verbal ability were additional predictors of increased Reactivity severity, while intellectual disability predicted lower Dysphoria severity.

Conclusions

This study provides new insight into predictors of emotion dysregulation in youth with ASD and represents a first step toward identifying which children with ASD may be most vulnerable to severe emotion dysregulation problems.

中文翻译：

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患有 ASD 的儿童和青少年情绪失调的严重程度和变化的预测因素

摘要

客观的

对于许多患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的人来说，情绪失调问题是普遍存在且具有破坏性的。本研究比较了患有和未患有 ASD 的青年情绪失调的严重程度和感知变化，并探讨了患有 ASD 的青年情绪失调（包括可能的双向互动）的相关性。

方法

参与者来自两个大型在线样本（平均年龄 = 12；范围：6-17），有（N = 1323）和没有（N = 921）ASD。该研究使用了情绪失调量表（EDI），这是一种专为患有 ASD 的青少年设计的家长报告测量方法。EDI 向父母询问情绪失调的当前严重程度和感知变化（即当前严重程度与终生严重程度相比如何），并包括两个因素：反应性（迅速升级，强烈的负面影响）和烦躁（不良上调的积极影响，普遍不安）。

结果

结果表明，与非 ASD 同龄人相比，患有 ASD 的青少年的反应严重程度更高，反应的积极变化也更大。此外，患有和未患有 ASD 的青年在反应性和烦躁之间的关系方面存在差异，这表明 ASD 中情绪失调存在明显的特征。在 ASD 样本中，刻板行为的年龄和严重程度可预测反应性和焦虑症的严重性以及反应性变化。女性、较低的父母教育和流利的语言能力是反应性严重程度增加的额外预测因素，而智力障碍则预示着焦虑症的严重程度较低。

结论

这项研究为 ASD 青年情绪失调的预测因素提供了新的见解，并代表了确定哪些 ASD 儿童可能最容易受到严重情绪失调问题的第一步。