An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability
BackgroundIndividuals with neurodevelopmental disorders often have atypical emotion profiles, but little is known about how they regulate their emotions. While several studies have examined emotion regulation strategy use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), only a few have included individuals with i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.940872/full |
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| author | Andrea C. Samson Andrea C. Samson Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Jo Van Herwegen Daniel Dukes Daniel Dukes |
| author_facet | Andrea C. Samson Andrea C. Samson Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Jo Van Herwegen Daniel Dukes Daniel Dukes |
| author_sort | Andrea C. Samson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundIndividuals with neurodevelopmental disorders often have atypical emotion profiles, but little is known about how they regulate their emotions. While several studies have examined emotion regulation strategy use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), only a few have included individuals with intellectual disability (ID) or focused on specific syndromes such as Williams syndrome (WS).MethodsA parent-reported survey launched during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed to exploratorily study emotion regulation strategy use and its link to anxiety in individuals with ASD with (N=785) and without ID (N=596), WS (N=261), and Intellectual Disability not otherwise specified (N=649).ResultsUsing multilevel analyses, besides revealing specific group differences in emotion regulation strategy use, a variety of strategies (e.g., rumination, avoiding information, repetitive behaviors) were found to be linked to elevated levels of anxiety, while focusing on the positive was linked to lower anxiety levels in all groups. Moreover, only autistic people without ID used humor more frequently while experiencing lower anxiety levels.ConclusionThis study sheds light on an underexplored area of emotion regulation strategy use in different neurodevelopmental disorders. It also paves the way to further examine emotion regulation in more rigorous ways to better understand emotion regulation in different neurodevelopmental disorders as well as the impact on outcome measures such as anxiety. This exploratory study may help to develop and validate adequate measures to study a broad array of ER strategies used by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:34:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3bd13321b42846dda5710f7287fd86a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:34:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-3bd13321b42846dda5710f7287fd86a42022-12-22T04:39:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-11-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.940872940872An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilityAndrea C. Samson0Andrea C. Samson1Nayla Sokhn2Nayla Sokhn3Nayla Sokhn4Jo Van Herwegen5Daniel Dukes6Daniel Dukes7Institute of Special Education, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, SwitzerlandFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, SwitzerlandFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, SwitzerlandEye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, London, United KingdomInstitute of Special Education, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, SwitzerlandSwiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandBackgroundIndividuals with neurodevelopmental disorders often have atypical emotion profiles, but little is known about how they regulate their emotions. While several studies have examined emotion regulation strategy use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), only a few have included individuals with intellectual disability (ID) or focused on specific syndromes such as Williams syndrome (WS).MethodsA parent-reported survey launched during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed to exploratorily study emotion regulation strategy use and its link to anxiety in individuals with ASD with (N=785) and without ID (N=596), WS (N=261), and Intellectual Disability not otherwise specified (N=649).ResultsUsing multilevel analyses, besides revealing specific group differences in emotion regulation strategy use, a variety of strategies (e.g., rumination, avoiding information, repetitive behaviors) were found to be linked to elevated levels of anxiety, while focusing on the positive was linked to lower anxiety levels in all groups. Moreover, only autistic people without ID used humor more frequently while experiencing lower anxiety levels.ConclusionThis study sheds light on an underexplored area of emotion regulation strategy use in different neurodevelopmental disorders. It also paves the way to further examine emotion regulation in more rigorous ways to better understand emotion regulation in different neurodevelopmental disorders as well as the impact on outcome measures such as anxiety. This exploratory study may help to develop and validate adequate measures to study a broad array of ER strategies used by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.940872/fullemotion regulationCOVID-19Williams syndromeautismanxietyintellectual disability |
| spellingShingle | Andrea C. Samson Andrea C. Samson Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Nayla Sokhn Jo Van Herwegen Daniel Dukes Daniel Dukes An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability Frontiers in Psychiatry emotion regulation COVID-19 Williams syndrome autism anxiety intellectual disability |
| title | An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| title_full | An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| title_fullStr | An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| title_full_unstemmed | An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| title_short | An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| title_sort | exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with williams syndrome autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability |
| topic | emotion regulation COVID-19 Williams syndrome autism anxiety intellectual disability |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.940872/full |
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