Executive functions and emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

ABSTRACT Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present deficits in regulation of their emotions which have a great impact on their mental health and well-being. There are several studies showing the connection between executive functions deficits and emotion dysregulation in the context of an ASD diagnosis. Our study aims to investigate which among the executive functions can predict the emotional dysregulation in children with ASD, if there is an association between the ASD specific characteristics and their ability to regulate their emotions and to identify if there are possible mediators of this relationship. To reach our objective, we enrolled 60 children with ASD (mean age 8.5 years) whose parents completed standardised measurements for executive functions, emotional dysregulation, and ASD characteristics. We found a positive association between ASD characteristics’ severity and emotional dysregulation, as well as some significant predictors among specific executive functions and emotional dysregulation. Moreover, executive functioning mediates the relationship between the ASD characteristics and emotion regulation. Our research provides a better understanding of the relationship between ASD characteristics, executive functions, and emotion regulation.