Reductions in Depression and Anxiety Among Autistic Adults Participating in an Intervention to Promote Healthy Relationships.

IMPORTANCE

Some autistic adults experience depression and anxiety related to their social relationships. There is a need for evidence-based occupational therapy interventions that decrease depression and anxiety and improve the health of social relationships for autistic adults.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum (HEARTS) intervention, a six-session, group-based psychoeducational intervention for the improvement of relationship health.

DESIGN

One-group pretest-posttest design with a 3-mo follow-up after baseline.

SETTING

United States; online intervention through community organization.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-five adults, ages 20 to 43 yr, with a professional or self-diagnosis of autism and the capacity to independently participate in an online, group-based, participatory class.

INTERVENTION

Participants received 6 90-min weekly sessions that addressed healthy relationship topics, including recognizing abuse, meeting people, maintaining relationships, setting interpersonal boundaries, neurohealth for relationships, and ending relationships. A psychoeducational approach that provided education and involved guided discovery and strategy acquisition was used.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

All measures were self-administered through an online survey. Depression and anxiety were assessed using instruments from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System.

RESULTS

Fifty-five participants completed the intervention. Postintervention scores revealed statistically significant improvements in depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

HEARTS is a promising intervention for improving depression and anxiety among autistic adults and should be investigated further. What This Article Adds: HEARTS offers a potentially effective, nonpharmacological, psychoeducational group-based intervention option to promote healthy relationships for autistic adults. Positionality Statement: This article uses identity-first language (autistic person) in accordance with the preference of autistic self-advocates (Autistic Self Advocacy Network, 2020; Kenny et al., 2016; Lord et al., 2022).