Parental Perspectives of the Impact of Emotion Dysregulation on Challenging Behaviours in Autistic Children
Date
2023-09-07
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Abstract
Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impairments in social communication, as well as restricted and repetitive behaviours. It is well established in the literature that difficulties with emotion regulation and the display of challenging behaviours are prominent secondary characteristics of autism that have negative consequences for both the individual and their family. Though emotion dysregulation and challenging behaviours are well studied as separate constructs, little is known about the relation between the two, how one affects the presentation of the other, and the relative implications for intervention. This thesis sought to understand the relation between emotion dysregulation and challenging behaviours by gathering parental perspectives of the perceived impact that emotion dysregulation has on their child’s challenging behaviour and the related implications for intervention. Methodology: This study was intended to be a mixed method analysis using a quantitative online survey to capture the frequency and severity of challenging behaviour and observable indicators of poor emotion regulation followed by a qualitative semi-structured interview. Results: Due to the small sample size, the quantitative data was not included in analysis and was only used to inform the construction of the qualitative semi-structured interview. Reflexive thematic analysis identified eight themes and two subthemes under the domains of emotion dysregulation, challenging behaviours, and the relation between emotion dysregulation and challenging behaviours. Discussion: This thesis identified novel information under the domains of emotion dysregulation, challenging behaviour, and the relation between the two constructs. The results present evidence of communication impairments eliciting feelings of dysregulation in autistic children, and that the inability to engage in adaptive emotion regulation and properly communicate their feelings prohibits them from choosing and engaging in an appropriate emotional response or strategy. Consequently, autistic children seem to engage in challenging behaviour. The current findings can inform programs and services that support autistic children with the goal of decreasing challenging behaviour and increasing adaptive emotion regulation skills. Important implications for future researchers include quantitatively exploring the severity of communication impairments in autistic children and how it affects both emotion dysregulation and challenging behaviour.
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Keywords
autism, autistic, emotion regulation, emotion dysregulation, challenging behaviour, qualitative, thematic analysis, children
Citation
Horbay, B. (2023). Parental perspectives of the impact of emotion dysregulation on challenging behaviours in autistic children (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.