Emotion dysregulation in children with autism: A multimethod investigation of the role of child and parent factors
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Abstract
Background: Children with autism have been found to experience greater difficulties with emotion regulation than peers without autism. Characteristics related to autism (i.e., social communication challenges, restricted repetitive behaviours, inhibitory control difficulties) and external parent factors (i.e., parent stress, mindful parenting) have been suggested to contribute to the emotion dysregulation (ED) experienced by youth with autism.
Method: The current study evaluated associations between child and parent factors and two indices of child ED (parent report and observational behaviour coding), in 44 children with autism, ages 8–13 years.
Results: Child autism symptomology, inhibitory control difficulties, parental stress and mindful parenting were all associated with parent reported ED, but not with observed ED. Similarly, linear regressions revealed that these factors jointly predicted parent reported ED, but not observed ED. Restricted interests/repetitive behaviours and inhibitory control difficulties emerged as unique positive predictors of parent reported ED.
Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of using a multimethod approach and of considering child- and parent-level factors when investigating ED in children with autism.