1. Reductions in Depression and Anxiety Among Autistic Adults Participating in an Intervention to Promote Healthy Relationships.
- Author
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Holmes, Laura Graham, Goebel, Russell J., Hollingue, Calliope, Zhu, Shuning, Zhang, Handing, Shan, Wuji, Wang, Shicong, Caplan, Reid, Sanchez, Amelia, Wharmby, Peter, Chiang, Melody, Person, Mariah, and Rothman, Emily F.
- Subjects
ANXIETY treatment ,WELL-being ,RESEARCH ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,INTERNET ,MOTIVATION (Psychology) ,ATTITUDE (Psychology) ,PSYCHOEDUCATION ,MEDICAL care ,HEALTH outcome assessment ,OCCUPATIONAL therapy ,PRE-tests & post-tests ,AUTISM ,MENTAL depression ,INTERPERSONAL relations ,RESEARCH funding ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,SCALE analysis (Psychology) ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,STATISTICAL correlation ,HEALTH promotion ,CISGENDER people ,GROUP psychotherapy ,ADULTS - Abstract
Importance: Some autistic adults experience depression and anxiety related to their social relationships. There is a need for evidence-based occupational therapy interventions that decrease depression and anxiety and improve the health of social relationships for autistic adults. Objective: To determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS) intervention, a six-session, group-based psychoeducational intervention for the improvement of relationship health. Design: One-group pretest–posttest design with a 3-mo follow-up after baseline. Setting: United States; online intervention through community organization. Participants: Fifty-five adults, ages 20 to 43 yr, with a professional or self-diagnosis of autism and the capacity to independently participate in an online, group-based, participatory class. Intervention: Participants received 6 90-min weekly sessions that addressed healthy relationship topics, including recognizing abuse, meeting people, maintaining relationships, setting interpersonal boundaries, neurohealth for relationships, and ending relationships. A psychoeducational approach that provided education and involved guided discovery and strategy acquisition was used. Outcomes and Measures: All measures were self-administered through an online survey. Depression and anxiety were assessed using instruments from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Results: Fifty-five participants completed the intervention. Postintervention scores revealed statistically significant improvements in depression and anxiety. Conclusions and Relevance: HEARTS is a promising intervention for improving depression and anxiety among autistic adults and should be investigated further. What This Article Adds: HEARTS offers a potentially effective, nonpharmacological, psychoeducational group-based intervention option to promote healthy relationships for autistic adults. Positionality Statement: This article uses identity-first language (autistic person) in accordance with the preference of autistic self-advocates (Autistic Self Advocacy Network, 2020; Kenny et al., 2016; Lord et al., 2022). Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS) offers a potentially effective, nonpharmacological, psychoeducational group-based intervention option to promote healthy relationships for autistic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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