Citation

Bemmouna D, Coutelle R, Weibel S, Weiner L. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 2022; 52(10): 4337-4354.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10803-021-05317-w

PMID

34626285

PMCID

PMC8501315

Abstract

Self-harm and suicidal behaviors are prevalent among autistic adults without intellectual disability (ID). Emotion dysregulation (ED), the difficulty in modulating emotions, has been identified as an important risk factor. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been proved effective to treat ED in disorders other than autism spectrum disorder. Our study aimed at assessing the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of DBT in seven autistic adults without ID exhibiting self-harm and/or suicidal behaviors linked to severe ED. Our results suggest that DBT is feasible and highly acceptable to autistic adults without ID. Additionally, mean scores on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale decreased significantly post-treatment and at 4-month follow-up, suggesting that DBT might be efficacious in reducing ED in this population.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Adults; Self-Injurious Behavior; Treatment Outcome; Feasibility Studies; Suicidality; Self-harm; Behavior Therapy; Emotion dysregulation; Autism spectrum disorder; Dialectical behavior therapy; Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Intellectual Disability; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder