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Linking social motivation with social skill: The role of emotion dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2019

Emily Neuhaus ,
Sara J. Webb  and
Raphael A. Bernier
Emily Neuhaus*
Affiliation:
Center on Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA Autism Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA;
Sara J. Webb
Affiliation:
Center on Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Raphael A. Bernier
Affiliation:
Autism Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: Emily Neuhaus, Seattle Children's Hospital, PO Box 5371 M/S CAC, Seattle, WA 98145; E-mail: emily.neuhaus@seattlechildrens.org.
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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with pervasive social deficits as well as marked emotion dysregulation across the life span. Decreased social motivation accounts in part for social difficulties, but factors moderating its influence are not fully understood. In this paper, we (a) characterize social and emotional functioning among children and adolescents with ASD, (b) explore contributions of social motivation and emotion dysregulation to social skill, and (c) consider biological sex and intellectual functioning as moderators of these associations. In a sample of 2,079 children and adolescents with ASD from the Simons Simplex Collection, we document direct effects of social motivation, internalizing symptoms, aggression, attention problems, irritability, and self-injurious behavior on children's social skills. Furthermore, dysregulation in several domains moderated the association between social motivation and social skill, suggesting a blunting effect on social motivation in the context of emotional difficulties. Moreover, when considering only individuals with intellectual skills in the average range or higher, biological sex further moderated these associations. Findings add to our understanding of social–emotional processes in ASD, suggest emotion dysregulation as a target of intervention in the service of social skill improvements, and build on efforts to understand sources of individual difference that contribute to heterogeneity among individuals with ASD.

Keywords

autismemotion dysregulationexternalizinginternalizingsocial motivation
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Special Issue 3: Emotion Dysregulation and Emerging Psychopathology , August 2019 , pp. 931 - 943
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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