The Role of Emotion Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder RH: Emotion Regulation in ASD

By Carla Mazefsky, J. Herrington, Matthew Siegel, Angela Scarpa, Brenna B. Maddox, L. Scahill, Susan W. White. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2013

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Objective Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with amplified emotional responses and poor emotional control, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This paper provides a conceptual and methodological framework for understanding compromised emotion regulation (ER) in ASD. Method After defining ER and related constructs, methods to study ER were reviewed with special consideration on how to apply these approaches to ASD. Against the backdrop of cognitive characteristics in ASD and existing ER theories, available research was examined to identify likely contributors to emotional dysregulation in ASD. Results Little is currently known about ER in youth with ASD. Some mechanisms that contribute to poor ER in ASD may be shared with other clinical populations (e.g., physiological arousal, degree of negative and positive affect, alterations in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex), whereas other mechanisms may be more unique to ASD (e.g., differences in information processing/perception, cognitive factors (e.g., rigidity), less goal-directed behavior and more disorganized emotion in ASD). Conclusions Although assignment of concomitant psychiatric diagnoses is warranted in some cases, poor ER may be inherent in ASD and may provide a more parsimonious conceptualization for the many associated socio-emotional and behavioral problems in this population. Further study of ER in youth with ASD may identify meaningful subgroups of patients and lead to more effective individualized treatments.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Mental health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/feba048e15c1931086f909d4be04ade134942947

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Citations in the corpus

‘I felt closed in and like I couldn’t breathe’: A qualitative study exploring the mainstream educational experiences of autistic young people (2018, background): “Three adolescents in a study of friendship by O’Hagan and Hebron (2017) expressed a desire for friendship, yet experienced loneliness.”
Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. (2014, background): “over-reactivity.(62) Overt clinical depression is sometimes observed and this may be particularly true for adolescents with Asperger’s disorder.”