Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that can impair social and communication skills. Many individuals diagnosed with ASD experience other mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Research has estimated that between 63-70% of people with ASD suffer from depression while 50-58% experience anxiety. Anxiety and depression both have been found to have a negative correlation with self-compassion for ASD children and typically developing (TD) children. Self-compassion is the concept of being caring towards oneself and is characterized by three facets: (1) self-kindness (2) common humanity, and (3) mindfulness. The present study seeks to explore the relationship between self-compassion and anxiety/depression and how this may vary for children with ASD compared to TD children. To examine this, 55 children (ASD=21), ages 7-17 years from the longitudinal ACE2 study, a five-site NIH-funded study on gender differences in autism were included in the analysis. ASD diagnosis was confirmed via standardized measures. Self-compassion was measured using the Self-Compassion Inventory for Youth, a self-report tool that generates scores on two scales: self-compassionate coping scale and self-punitive coping scale. Anxiety and depression were measured using the Youth Self Report (YSR), a self-questionnaire assessing symptoms of anxiety and depression. We expect that children with ASD will experience a stronger negative correlation between self-compassion and anxiety/depression than TD children. This relationship is critical to understand as individuals with ASD can experience difficulty practicing self-compassion. Cognizance of the relationship between these two constructs may help inform beneficial interventions and treatments for children with ASD to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that often results in deficits in communication, social skills, and emotion regulation. Additional concerns include disruptions to the sleep wake cycle that result from circadian rhythm dysfunction. Individuals with ASD also generally demonstrate difficulty with emotional regulation, including internalizing behaviors that can present as disorders such as anxiety, depression, general mood disturbance, and externalizing behaviors such as aggression. Previous studies have suggested an association between increased sleep dysfunction and increased issues with internalizing/externalizing behaviors in children, and have insinuated a possible bidirectional relationship between the two. This study aimed to look at the relationship between sleep quality and emotion regulation (internalizing and externalizing behaviors) in adults with and without ASD. 80 adults (ASD=42) from the longitudinal Autism Center of Excellence 2 study, a five-site NIH-funded study on gender differences in autism, were included in the analysis. Autism diagnosis was confirmed via standardized measures. Participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a measure of sleep quality and the adult self report (ASR), a measure of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Analysis included correlations between sleep quality and internalizing and externalizing scores for ASD and typically developing (TD) groups. We hypothesized that individuals with ASD will demonstrate higher internalizing and externalizing scores and higher rates of sleep issues; and stronger correlation between the two. Additionally we explored gender differences in sleep quality within the sample. I hypothesized that decreased sleep quality and increased sensitivity to stimuli will increase emotional regulation problems in individuals with ASD. This study might provide evidence to support the increased use of therapy or behavioral interventions for better sleep to improve mental health in individuals with autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, communicative, cognitive, and behavioral impairments, observable in over 2% of adults in the United States. Hedonic capacity is a concept that is defined as reward responsiveness and has become associated with ASD and related disorders. When faced with stimuli that are typically considered to be rewarding, one’s level of hedonic capacity can be determined by his or her ability to feel pleasure in response. Research has shown that individuals with ASD experience decreased levels of social and interpersonal pleasure when compared to typically developing (TD) individuals. Considering the prevalence of social impairments in autism, I aim to analyze the relationship between hedonic capacity for interpersonal pleasure and autism social traits in ASD and TD adults. 99 adults (ASD = 52) from the longitudinal ACE2 study, a five-site NIH-funded study on gender differences in autism, were included in the analysis. Participants completed the Anticipatory & Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS), which assesses an individual’s ability to look forward to interactions with other people (anticipatory social pleasure) as well as to experience pleasure for social/interpersonal interactions when they occur. We also utilized the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) to measure participant social responsiveness, including social motivation. I expect ASD individuals to have a lower ACIPS score and more deficits in social responsiveness. Additionally, I expect that individuals with decreased interpersonal pleasure will have greater social responsiveness impairments and expect this relationship to be stronger in the ASD group. Understanding the relationship between hedonic capacity for interpersonal pleasure and social responsiveness will allow us to further understand how decreased social pleasure may be related to autism traits and symptoms.