Interactive testbed for research in autism—the SARA project

Arellano, Diana; Rauh, Reinhold; Krautheim, Benjamin; Spicker, Marc; Schaller, Ulrich Max; Helzle, Volker; Deußen, Oliver

doi:10.1007/s10209-016-0521-9

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Additionally, all studies matched ASD and NT groups on at least some characteristics, most commonly gender and age. The lowest scoring study on the quality appraisal was Arellano et al [ 36 ], due to a lack of information on how participants were recruited, and how ASD diagnoses were defined or confirmed. The highest scoring study on the quality appraisal was Berthoz et al [ 35 ], primarily due to their consideration of confounding factors in the analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2019

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BackgroundNew research suggests that, rather than representing a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional processing difficulties reflect co-occurring alexithymia. Autistic individuals with alexithymia could therefore represent a specific subgroup of autism who may benefit from tailored interventions. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the nature and prevalence of alexithymia in autism using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS).MethodsOnline scientific databases were searched systematically for studies on ASD popu lations using the TAS. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate differences in scores between the ASD and neurotypical groups, and to determine the prevalence of alexithymia in these populations.Results15 articles comparing autistic and neurotypical (NT) groups were identified. Autistic people scored significantly higher on all scores compared to the NT group. There was also a higher prevalence of alexithymia in the ASD group (49.93% compared to 4.89%), with a significantly increased risk of alexithymia in autistic participants.ConclusionsThis review highlights that alexithymia is common, rather than universal, in ASD, supporting a growing body of evidence that co-occurring autism and alexithymia represents a specific subgroup in the ASD population that may have specific clinical needs. More research is needed to understand the nature and implications of co-occurring ASD and alexithymia.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In all cases, this was a version of the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire. Two studies found a correlation between the BVAQ and TAS total scores [ 35 , 36 ], whilst the third study did not report this information [ 3 ]. Further information on study quality appraisals may be found in the appendix.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2019

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“…In two of these studies, the TAS-20 found significantly higher scores among autistic compared to typical populations, while the Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) found no difference ( Berthoz & Hill, 2005 ; Silani et al, 2008 ). Similarly, Arellano and colleagues (2018) found TAS-26 scores were significantly higher in autistic populations, but no differences emerged in BVAQ scores. Findings from Erbas and colleagues (2013) are explored in the ‘Behavioural measures’ section.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Of the remaining 41 papers, 32 found significantly poorer emotional self-awareness in autism at α = 0.05. Of the remaining nine papers, two papers only examined TAS-20 subscales and four papers found mixed results with multiple tools ( Arellano et al, 2018 ; Berthoz & Hill, 2005 ; Erbas et al, 2013 ; Silani et al, 2008 ). In two of these studies, the TAS-20 found significantly higher scores among autistic compared to typical populations, while the Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) found no difference ( Berthoz & Hill, 2005 ; Silani et al, 2008 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To match TAS-20 scores, scores were coded so that higher scores reflected greater emotional self-awareness difficulties. Notably, six studies used more than one self-report measure, leading to some samples of participants being included twice ( Allen et al, 2013 ; Arellano et al, 2018 ; Berthoz et al, 2013 ; Berthoz & Hill, 2005 ; Silani et al, 2008 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emotional self-awareness in autism: A meta-analysis of group differences and developmental effects

Huggins

Donnan

Cameron

et al. 2020

Autism

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Emotional self-awareness is increasingly suggested to be an area of difficulty in autism that may predict socioemotional outcomes for this population. However, whether emotional self-awareness is consistently diminished in autism across age and methodology remains unclear. We systematically reviewed 47 papers measuring emotional self-awareness in autistic ( n = 1387) and non-autistic ( n = 1433) participants. Most studies relied on self-report. Of studies testing for group differences, the majority (32/41) found significantly poorer emotional self-awareness in autism. Meta-analyses of self-report measures found that emotional self-awareness was significantly poorer in autism ( d = 1.16). However, when examining age groups individually, autistic children of age 12 years and under were not significantly different from their peers ( d = 0.03). Instead, difficulties emerged during adolescence ( d = 0.63) and increased with age ( d = 1.16 – 1.58). The pattern of emotional self-awareness difficulties being more common in autism, and worsening with age is similar to the development of mental health difficulties in autism. However, findings rely on self-perception and so may reflect poor self-beliefs of socioemotional competence. We propose that negative self-beliefs in autistic populations may account for findings of low emotional self-awareness. Lay abstract Autistic people are thought to have difficulties with identifying and understanding their own emotions. This is referred to as emotional self-awareness. It is important to study emotional self-awareness as people who are more able to understand their own emotions, whether they are autistic or not, are more able to respond to them appropriately, as well as to identify them in other people. It has not yet been confirmed whether autistic people have difficulties with emotional self-awareness, or if any reported difficulties are actually due to the way in which emotional self-awareness is measured in autistic people. If these difficulties do exist, it is also not known when these difficulties emerge. In this research, we reviewed 47 existing studies that measured emotional self-awareness in autistic and non-autistic adults and children. We also compared studies that measured emotional self-awareness in different ways. We found that autistic adults did seem to have poorer emotional self-awareness compared to their neurotypical peers. However, this was not the case with autistic children of age 12 years and below. Instead, differences in emotional self-awareness only seemed to emerge during adolescence. Moreover, these difficulties seemed to increase with age. These results suggest that difficulties with emotional self-awareness may not be inherent in autism. Instead, they may emerge alongside the greater social and mental health difficulties that are experienced by many autistic people during adolescence. We therefore suggest that it is important to find out more about, and subsequently support, the emotional self-awareness difficulties that autistic adolescents may encounter.

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