Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Van Hecke, Amy V.
Second Advisor
Saunders, Stephen
Third Advisor
Gordon, Nakia
Abstract
Autistic people experience co-occurring mental illness at a substantially greater rate compared to their neurotypical counterparts. Of these comorbid psychopathologies, internalizing disorders (anxiety and depression) are among the most prevalent. Emotion dysregulation has been identified as a contributing factor to this phenomenon and potential treatment target. The current study employed cognitive (e.g., use of suppression and use of cognitive reappraisal) and physiological (e.g., respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart period) measures to more holistically capture the multifaceted construct of emotion regulation compared to prior research. In a sample of autistic young adults (N = 63) ages 17-29 (M = 20.14), backward hierarchical regression revealed that cognitive reappraisal significantly predicted symptoms of both anxiety and depression whereas suppression significantly predicted symptoms of only anxiety. The physiological variables were not retained as significant predictors in either model. In sum, the present multi-method study underscores the cognitive component of emotion dysregulation in autistic young adults, particularly as it relates to internalizing symptomatology. These findings have clinical implications for the treatment of anxiety and depression in autistic adult populations. Possible explanations for the null physiological findings and future directions are discussed.