Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention on Emotion Regulation in Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: Recent studies have found that adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unable to understand their own emotions which can lead to difficulties in emotion regulation. The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in improving emotion regulation has been reported in children with ASD, but few studies have examined the efficacy of CBT in adults with ASD.

Objectives: We developed the program of group-based CBT on emotion regulation in adults with high-functioning ASDand investigated its efficacy.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, waitlist-controlled, single-blinded clinical trial with adults with ASD; 31 participants were allocated to the CBT intervention group and 29 allocated to the waitlist control group. The CBT group underwent an 8-week program of weekly 100-min group CBT sessions. At pre-intervention and post-intervention, all participants completed the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) scale, the ASD questionnaire, which assesses knowledge and attitudes about ASD, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS20), and the Motion Picture Mind-Reading task. These scores were the primary outcomes.

Results: Compared to the waitlist group, the CBT group exhibited significantly greater pre-to-post-intervention score improvements on the ASD questionnaire and the TAS20.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that group-based CBT is effective for adults with ASD, as it increases their positive thinking about ASD and improves their emotional expression.

Conclusions: Our study provides novel evidence for the efficacy of group-based CBT for adults with high-functioning ASD. Participants who received CBT exhibited an increased positive attitude about ASD and reduced difficulties in expressing feelings. The CBT program described in this study may be the first effective behavioral intervention on emotion regulation for adults with high-functioning ASD.