Experience Sampling of Positive Affect in Adolescents with Autism: Feasibility and Preliminary Findings

Experience sampling is a powerful method for obtaining ecologically valid data from research participants in real-world contexts. Given the urgent need for innovative and sensitive outcome measures in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research, the present study sought to examine the feasibility of using experience sampling of positive affect and behavior in adolescents with ASD.

Nineteen high functioning adolescents with ASD and 20 sex and age matched controls completed smartphone- and Qualtrics® -based experience sampling of positive affect and behavior six times over four days.

Adherence was excellent: adolescents with ASD completed 85% of the assessments, compared to 93% in controls, and response rates were not impacted by age or IQ. Groups did not differ in positive affect overall or as a function of activities, nor did groups differ in the proportion of assessments completed during social or nonsocial activities. However, groups did differ in the proportion of assessments completed during preferred activities.

Results suggest that smartphone- and Qualtrics® -based experience sampling with high functioning adolescents with ASD is feasible and captures real-world behaviors that would not be possible using laboratory-based measures.