Syu Ya-Cing, Huang Pai-Chuan, Wang Tsui-Ying, Chang Yen-Ching, Lin Ling-Yi
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2020 Sep 24;16:2181-2190. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S270308. eCollection 2020.
Despite the highly prevailing rate of sensory over-responsivity, problem behaviors, and anxiety among emerging adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about the nature of their experiences. While previous studies have indicated potential relationships among these conditions, their connections still need to be clarified. This study aimed to examine the relationships between sensory over-responsivity, problem behaviors, and anxiety.
Fifty-seven emerging adults with ASD (M = 21.4, SD = 2.5; males = 80.7%) were recruited. The Adult Sensory Profile - Chinese version, Problem Behavior Scale of Scales of Independent Behavior - Revised, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 - Chinese version (GAD-7) were used.
The percentage of emerging adults with ASD who scored more than most people in the two quadrants were sensation sensitivity = 33.3% and sensation avoiding = 26.3%. Approximately 66.7%, 27.5%, and 50.9% of participants had internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and asocial behaviors, respectively. Approximately, 64.9% of the participants scored on or above the cut-off score of 6 on the GAD-7. Sensation sensitivity and sensation avoiding were significantly correlated to problem behaviors; and anxiety was a mediating variable that accounts for the relationships between sensory over-responsivity and problem behaviors.
These results indicated that emerging adults with ASD showing problem behaviors might also report more exaggerated responses toward sensory inputs and experience more anxiety symptoms. The results indicate that sensory over-responsivity, problem behaviors, and anxiety may have common underlying mechanisms. Findings can be useful to understand the impacts of such difficulties for emerging adults with ASD.
尽管自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的成年初期患者中感觉过度反应、问题行为和焦虑的发生率很高，但对他们经历的本质却知之甚少。虽然先前的研究表明了这些情况之间的潜在关系，但它们之间的联系仍需阐明。本研究旨在探讨感觉过度反应、问题行为和焦虑之间的关系。
招募了57名成年初期的ASD患者（M = 21.4，SD = 2.5；男性占80.7%）。使用了《成人感觉量表-中文版》、《独立行为量表修订版问题行为量表》和《广泛性焦虑障碍-7-中文版》（GAD-7）。
在两个象限中得分高于大多数人的成年初期ASD患者的百分比分别为：感觉敏感 = 33.3%，感觉回避 = 26.3%。分别约有66.7%、27.5%和50.9%的参与者有内化行为、外化行为和社交障碍行为。约64.9%的参与者在GAD-7上的得分等于或高于临界值6分。感觉敏感和感觉回避与问题行为显著相关；焦虑是一个中介变量，解释了感觉过度反应和问题行为之间的关系。
这些结果表明，表现出问题行为的成年初期ASD患者可能对感觉输入也有更夸张的反应，并经历更多的焦虑症状。结果表明，感觉过度反应﹑问题行为和焦虑可能有共同的潜在机制。这些发现有助于理解这些困难对成年初期ASD患者的影响。
