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Examining Clinical and Demographic Characteristics of Autistic versus Non-Autistic Youth Seeking Treatment for Emotional Disorders
Location: 2
Mentor: Dr. Jill Ehrenreich-May
Anxiety and depression are highly comorbid with ASD, with 40% of autistic youth experiencing anxiety and 26% experiencing depression. Autistic youth with anxiety and/or depression experience behavioral and psychosocial impairment beyond core autism symptoms. Research suggests that symptoms of anxiety and depression and their underlying mechanisms, like distress tolerance and emotion regulation, may present differently in autistic youth. However, few studies have examined this question – particularly in a treatment-seeking sample. The present study aimed to explore the demographic and clinical characteristics of autistic and non-autistic youth receiving a transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders. Specifically, we examined group-level differences in anxiety and depression severity, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. Participants included 141 youth (27 with reported ASD and 114 without ASD) seeking treatment for emotional disorders at a research clinic. Total mean scores in all clinical measures, including anxiety, depression, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation, were not statistically different between groups. Findings suggest that autistic and non-autistic youth do not significantly differ in anxiety and depression symptom severity, distress tolerance, or emotion regulation. Both treatment-seeking groups generally exhibited high psychiatric comorbidities and moderate clinical severity, which may explain why no differences in emotional disorder symptomatology were observed in the present sample. This may indicate that youth seeking treatment at a specialized clinic for emotional disorders present with comparable levels and types of mental health concerns, regardless of autism. This may also imply that this form of transdiagnostic, emotion-focused treatment may not need many further adaptations for autistic youth.
