Alexithymia in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Its Relationship to Internalising Difficulties, Sensory Modulation and Social Cognition

Bosiljka Milosavljevic; Virginia Carter Leno; Emily Simonoff; Gillian Baird; Andrew Pickles; Catherine R G Jones; Catherine Erskine; Tony Charman; Francesca Happé

doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2670-8

Alexithymia in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Its Relationship to Internalising Difficulties, Sensory Modulation and Social Cognition

J Autism Dev Disord. 2016 Apr;46(4):1354-67. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2670-8.

Authors

Bosiljka Milosavljevic¹, Virginia Carter Leno², Emily Simonoff², Gillian Baird³, Andrew Pickles⁴, Catherine R G Jones⁵, Catherine Erskine⁶, Tony Charman⁷, Francesca Happé⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Box PO77, Henry Wellcome Building, 16 Decrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK. [email protected].
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Decrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
³ Newcomen Centre, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Decrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
⁵ School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3AT, UK.
⁶ Ecorys, Quay Place, Edward Street, Birmingham, B12 RA, UK.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Box PO77, Henry Wellcome Building, 16 Decrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
⁸ MRC SDGP Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Decrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.

PMID: 26659552
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2670-8

Abstract

Alexithymia is a personality trait frequently found in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and has been linked to impairments in emotion recognition and empathy. The presentation of alexithymia within ASD at younger ages remains unexplored, and was examined in the present study. Alexithymia rates were significantly elevated in ASD (55%; 31/56 scoring above cut-off) versus non-ASD adolescents (16%; 5/32 scoring above cut-off). Within individuals with ASD, alexithymia was associated with increased self-reported anxiety, parent-reported emotional difficulties, self-reported sensory processing atypicalities, and poorer emotion recognition, but was not associated with theory of mind ability. Overall, our results suggest that alexithymia is highly prevalent, and has selective cognitive correlates in young people with ASD.

Keywords: Alexithymia; Anxiety; Autism spectrum disorder; Emotion recognition; Sensory processing; Theory of mind.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Affective Symptoms / complications
Affective Symptoms / epidemiology
Affective Symptoms / psychology*
Anxiety / complications
Anxiety / epidemiology
Autism Spectrum Disorder / complications
Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology*
Case-Control Studies
Emotions
England / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Internal-External Control*
Male
Parents
Prevalence
Self Report
Sensation Disorders / complications
Sensation Disorders / psychology*
Social Behavior*
Theory of Mind

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding