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Emotion Regulation Skills Predicts Friendship Quality in Children with Autism

Poster Presentation
Thursday, May 2, 2019: 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Room: 710 (Palais des congres de Montreal)
H. J. Nuske1, W. I. Shih2, N. Sparapani3, Z. L. Atkinson-Diaz4, E. Fischer5, D. S. Mandell1, C. Kasari2 and .. AIRB-1 team6, (1)Center for Mental Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, (2)University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (3)School of Education, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, (4)University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, (5)Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, (6)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Background: Emotion regulation is associated with a host of positive outcomes in children with and without autism, including increased mental health, academic achievement, and the deduction of problematic behavior. Less is known regarding whether, and how, emotion regulation and dysregulation relate to social outcomes, such as friendship quality and feelings of loneliness.

Objectives: To examine the impact of emotion regulation and symptoms related to emotion dysregulation (externalizing and internalizing behavior) on friendship and loneliness in school-age children with ASD.

Methods: Across four sites, parents and teachers of 106 children with autism aged 5–12 (M = 8 years, SD =1.5 years) reported on children’s emotional regulation skills as well as externalizing and internalizing symptoms, based on the frequency of these behaviors in home and school environments. Four-to-five months later, children reported on the quality of their friendship with their best friend (companionship, conflict, helpfulness, sense of relationship security, closeness) and their feelings of loneliness. Linear regression models were run to examine longitudinal emotion-regulation related predictors of friendship quality and loneliness in the children.

Results: Across time, fewer reported behavior problems and less emotion dysregulation predicted stronger companionship, increased aggressive behavior predicted more conflict, and more frequent externalizing and depressive symptoms predicted greater feelings of loneliness. Girls with autism had stronger companionship, security, and closeness with their best friend and rated their best friend as more helpful than did boys with autism. Autism symptoms, IQ, and age were not associated with any aspects of friendship quality or loneliness (Table 1).

Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of targeting emotion regulation and mental health in interventions for school-aged children with ASD to help support friendship development and prevent loneliness. Findings also suggest that interventions targeting autism symptoms and IQ may not facilitate friendship development directly and confirm that girls have a protective advantage in friendship development.

See more of: Social Cognition and Social Behavior
See more of: Social Cognition and Social Behavior