Investigations into emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative study

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Santomauro, D., Sheffield, J., & Sofronoff, K. (2016). Investigations into emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative study. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 42(3), 275-284. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2016.1236240

Publication date: 5 Oct 2016 Added to AutiHub: 29 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Damian Santomauro *
  2. Jeanie Sheffield
  3. Kate Sofronoff

Abstract

Background Emotion regulation difficulties have been associated with depression and anxiety in typically developing individuals. However, until recently, the impact of emotion regulation difficulties for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has received little attention. We investigated emotion regulation difficulties from the perspective of those who would experience the sequelae. This included parents, teachers, and psychologists.Method Seven focus groups with parents, teachers, and psychologists, and 7 interviews with adolescents and young adults with ASD were conducted.Results Across the groups, participants discussed their triggers of distressing emotions, difficulties with emotional awareness, emotion regulation strategies, and the consequences of their distressing emotions. Both depression and anxiety were perceived as the most experienced distressing issues with the greatest consequences.Conclusions The implications of the themes revealed in the interviews and focus groups are discussed in light in previous literature and may help to inform future interventions.

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Cited references
50
With a DOI
46
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
2 / 50 (4.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 50 (2.0%)
References with detected author names
50 / 50 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
156
From DOI or external metadata
156
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
24 / 156 (15.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 132 / 156 (84.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 156 (1.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 24 (8.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 138 (1.4%).
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