Emotional Arousal During Social Stress in Young Adults With Autism: Insights From Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability and Self-Report

Author(s):
Dijkhuis, R.R. (0000-0001-5107-6628); Ziermans, T.B.; Rijn, S. van (0000-0002-9179-7515); Staal, W.G.; Swaab, J.T.
Published
2019
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Abstract

In order to better understand which factors play a role in non-adaptive social behavior in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) we looked into physiological arousal and awareness of one’s own emotions. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during a public speaking task in 51 young adults with ASD and 28 typically developing (TD) controls. The results showed no significant group differences in baseline HR/HRV, HR reactivity (change from baseline to the speaking task) or self-reported emotional awareness. However, adults with ASD showed significantly lower HRV reactivity (p = .023, d = 0.6) compared to TD adults. These results suggest a mismatch between arousal regulation and emotional awareness, which may be related to problems in social adaptation in ASD.

Date issued
2019-04-04
Language
English
Is part of
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2019), Vol. 49, no. 6, p. 2524-2535
hdl
1887/78027
doi
10.1007/s10803-019-04000-5