The role of context in psychosocial stress among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Piloting a semi-structured, videogame-based paradigm

ABSTRACT

Background Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterised by altered social patterns, often associated with increased stress. While puberty is associated with increased stress, there is limited research on stress response to social interaction in adolescents with ASD. The study investigated stress response to semi-structured, videogame-based interaction in adolescents with and without ASD, and the impact of puberty.

Method Twelve adolescents with ASD and 12 typically developing (TD) peers participated in a semi-structured, videogame-based social interaction. Stress was measured via salivary cortisol.

Results There were no significant between-group differences in cortisol. Pubertal development was correlated with cortisol in ASD (r = 0.85, p < 0.001), but not TD (r = 0.03, p = 0.94).

Conclusions Findings contribute to a fuller picture of the developmental trajectories of physiological stress in ASD, including the importance of context, structure, and puberty. The current investigation underscores the necessity of incorporating varied social contexts when assessing stress and social interaction.

KEYWORDS:

• autism spectrum disorder
• stress
• puberty
• adolescence
• social interaction
• cortisol

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the families for their participation in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Scott D. Blain http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2751-3629

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health R01 MH085717 (Corbett). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare and the funding body imposes no known restrictions on free access or publication of research data. All of the authors listed have made significant contribution to the study and generation of the manuscript, and approve the manuscript for submission; NCATS/NIH.