Exploring the autism spectrum: Moderating effects of neuroticism on stress reactivity and on the association between social context and negative affect

Oosterhout, Jeroen van; Linden, Kim van der; Simons, Claudia; Amelsvoort, Thérèse van

doi:10.1017/s0954579420002278

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 36 publications

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“…Indeed, a higher prevalence of neurotic traits in autistic samples ( 32 ) may predispose this population to maladaptive cognitive and affective processes that could explain, in part, elevated rates of depression in the autistic community. Neuroticism was found to moderate associations between appraised stress and increased negative affect in autistic adults, particularly in new social situations with unfamiliar people ( 33 ). Given that IS constitutes a type of rigid cognitive processing often paired with (or at least measured by) negative emotional reactivity, it may be that neuroticism accounts for a significant portion of an observed relationship between IS and depression in autism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroticism Drives Associations Between Repetitive Behaviors and Depression in Autistic Adults

et al. 2022

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Depression is more prevalent among autistic adults than neurotypical adults, yet risk factors are incompletely understood in this population. Some research groups have focused on relationships between negative repetitive thinking and depression in the autistic population, which may explain elevated prevalence rates in line with general population findings on rumination and internalizing disorders. Little is known about associations between depression and more prototypical repetitive cognitions and/or behaviors characteristic of autism (i.e., insistence on sameness [IS] and repetitive sensorimotor [RSM] behaviors). Therefore, the present study aimed to examine associations between IS, RSM behaviors, and depressive symptoms in 762 autistic adults, and whether observed effects are confounded by additional factors (e.g., demographic factors, trait neuroticism). To test if greater IS scores were associated with greater depressive symptoms on the BDI-II, a Bayesian linear regression was conducted with BDI-II scores (dependent variable) regressed on age, gender, educational level, RSM scores, and IS scores (independent variables). To test the effects of neuroticism on observed relationships, a second regression was conducted that included all predictors from the baseline model and neuroticism. Standardized regression coefficients were tested against an interval null hypothesis of [−0.1, 0.1] to assess for practical significance. Results indicated that IS exhibited a moderate positive relationship with depressive symptoms, while RSM behaviors provided only a slight increase in predictive ability. However in the second model, neuroticism exhibited a strong positive relationship with depressive symptoms, completely attenuating the effect of IS. Associations between RSM behaviors and depressive symptoms did not meet our criteria for practical significance, particularly when neuroticism was added to the model. Neither RSM nor IS moderated the effect of neuroticism on depression. The findings from this study add to the literature on risk factors in the pathway to depression in autism, and suggest opportunities for clinical translation to screening and intervention efforts. Screening for IS in autistic individuals is a common diagnostic practice in clinical and research settings that may be leveraged to also identify those at higher risk for depression, and increasing flexibility in daily life may promote emotional regulation and distress tolerance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroticism Drives Associations Between Repetitive Behaviors and Depression in Autistic Adults

et al. 2022

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Neuroticism and posttraumatic stress disorder: A Mendelian randomization analysis

You,

Chen,

Tang

2024

Brain and Behavior

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ObjectiveEpidemiological studies revealed an unestablished association between neuroticism and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and we conducted mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to examine whether neuroticism clusters of worry, depressed affect, and sensitivity to environmental stress and adversity (SESA) were involved in the development of PTSD.MethodWe obtained data on three neuroticism clusters, PTSD, and nine other psychiatric disorders from genome‐wide association studies summary statistics and employed univariable, multivariable, and mediation MR analyses to explore causal associations among them.ResultsNeuroticism clusters were linked with PTSD (depressed affect (odds ratio [OR]: 2.94 [95% confidence interval: 2.21–3.92]); SESA (2.69 [1.95–3.71]; worry (1.81 [1.37–2.99])). Neuroticism clusters were also associated with psychiatric disorders, with the depressed effect on panic disorder (PD) (2.60 [1.14–5.91]), SESA on anorexia nervosa (AN) (2.77 [1.95–3.94]) and schizophrenia (2.55 [1.99–3.25]), worry on major depressive disorder (MDD) (2.58 [2.19–3.05]). In multivariable MR, only the SESA‐PTSD association remained (2.60 [2.096, 3.107]) while worry‐PTSD and depressed affect‐PTSD associations attenuated to nonsignificance. Mediation MR analyses suggested that PD mediated 3.76% of the effect of depressed effect on PTSD and AN mediated 10.33% of the effect of SESA on PTSD.ConclusionDelving deeper into neuroticism clusters, we comprehensively understand the role of neuroticism in PTSD.

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A Systematic Review of Self-Reported Stress Questionnaires in People on the Autism Spectrum

Thoen

Steyaert

Alaerts

et al. 2021

Rev J Autism Dev Disord

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Background The goal of this systematic review was to provide an overview of self-report measures of stress in populations on the autism spectrum. In addition, information regarding psychometric properties was discussed as well. Methods Four databases were systematically searched following the PRISMA guidelines and using strict eligibility criteria. Risk of bias assessment was performed using the COSMIN checklist. Results Eight questionnaires were previously used in populations on the autism spectrum, reported over 31 studies. Discussion Future research should focus more on examining psychometric properties of these self-report measures in this population as current evidence is scarce. In addition, it is important to consider which concept of stress one aims to measure as not all questionnaires cover the same aspects of stress. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40489-021-00293-4.

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Exploring the autism spectrum: Moderating effects of neuroticism on stress reactivity and on the association between social context and negative affect

Cited by 5 publications

References 36 publications

Neuroticism Drives Associations Between Repetitive Behaviors and Depression in Autistic Adults

Neuroticism Drives Associations Between Repetitive Behaviors and Depression in Autistic Adults

Neuroticism and posttraumatic stress disorder: A Mendelian randomization analysis

A Systematic Review of Self-Reported Stress Questionnaires in People on the Autism Spectrum

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