1. A momentary assessment study on emotional and biological stress in adult males and females with autism spectrum disorder
- Author
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Emmy Ottenheijm, Claudia J. P. Simons, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, Therese van Amelsvoort, Kim van der Linden, Machteld Marcelis, RS: MHeNs - R2 - Mental Health, Psychiatrie & Neuropsychologie, RS: MHeNs - R1 - Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, and MUMC+: MA Med Staf Spec Psychiatrie (9)
- Subjects
Male ,HPA-AXIS ,Hydrocortisone ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,Emotions ,FUNCTIONING AUTISM ,0302 clinical medicine ,Stress (linguistics) ,YOUNG-ADULTS ,Medicine ,Young adult ,Reactivity (psychology) ,Multidisciplinary ,ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER ,05 social sciences ,Autism spectrum disorders ,Middle Aged ,Multidisciplinary Sciences ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Multilevel Analysis ,Regression Analysis ,Science & Technology - Other Topics ,Female ,Stress and resilience ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology ,Adult ,Experience sampling method ,SEX-DIFFERENCES ,Adolescent ,Biological Stress ,PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS ,Science ,PERCEIVED STRESS ,Article ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,Stress, Physiological ,Humans ,Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Social stress ,Science & Technology ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,DAILY-LIFE STRESS ,REACTIVITY ,Case-Control Studies ,PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITY ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Prospective momentary psychological and biological measures of real-time daily life stress experiences have been examined in several psychiatric disorders, but not in adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current electronic self-monitoring study examined associations between momentary daily life stressors and (i) negative affect (NA; emotional stress reactivity) and (ii) cortisol levels (biological stress reactivity) in males and females with ASD (N = 50) and without ASD (N = 51). The Experience Sampling Method, including saliva sampling, was used to measure three types of daily life stress (activity-related, event-related, and social stress), NA, and cortisol. Multilevel regression analyses demonstrated significant interactions between group and stress (i.e., activity-related and event-related stress) in the model of NA, indicating stronger emotional stress reactivity in the ASD than in the control group. In the model of cortisol, none of the group × stress interactions were significant. Male/female sex had no moderating effect on either emotional or biological stress reactivity. In conclusion, adults with ASD showed a stronger emotional stress (but not cortisol) reactivity in response to unpleasant daily life events and activities. The findings highlight the feasibility of electronic self-monitoring in individuals with ASD, which may contribute to the development of more personalized stress-management approaches. ispartof: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS vol:11 issue:1 ispartof: location:England status: published
- Published
- 2021