Emotion regulation in autistic adolescents: a mixed methods systematic review

Area of Science:

• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Psychology
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties are prevalent in autistic individuals, potentially contributing to adolescent psychopathology.
• Heterogeneity in existing research hinders understanding of ER in autistic adolescents.
• This review synthesizes current knowledge on ER in autistic adolescents aged 10-24 years.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize existing research on emotion regulation in autistic adolescents.
• To identify factors associated with emotion regulation difficulties in this population.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for improving emotion regulation in autistic adolescents.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus.
• Inclusion of 32 empirical studies, including two qualitative studies.
• Convergent integrated approach for synthesizing findings.

Main Results:

• Autistic adolescents demonstrate significantly more ER difficulties compared to non-autistic peers, associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
• Greater autism symptom severity, lower theory of mind, and social challenges correlate with poorer ER.
• Evidence suggests links between ER difficulties and physiological factors like heart rate variability and neural responses; interventions like CBT and mindfulness show potential but with varied results.

Conclusions:

• Pronounced ER challenges in autistic adolescents are strongly linked to mental health symptoms.
• Interventions for ER in autistic adolescents show promise but require further investigation.
• Future research should focus on measurement consistency, neurobiological factors, and longitudinal, ecologically valid designs.