Kirsten Hoeberichts, Yvette Roke, Irene Niks, Peter N. van Harten
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引用次数: 3
Abstract
Abstract
Objectives
Adults with autism often need support to detect their stress and to apply adequate coping strategies for dealing with daily stress. The personalized mobile application Stress Autism Mate (SAM) is developed for and by adults with autism to detect and cope with daily life stress. SAM measures stress four times daily, generates an overview of the patients’ stress level and gives personalized advice to reduce stress.
Methods
With a pre-to post-treatment design, the level of perceived stress, coping self-efficacy and self-rated quality of life (QoL) was assessed at baseline (pre-test), after the four-week intervention (post-test) and after eight-week follow-up. Data was analysed using multilevel analysis taking within subject variance into account.
Results
At post-test measurement, there was a significant decrease in perceived stress. At post-test as well as follow-up, a significant improvement in coping self-efficacy and improvement in self-rated QoL was seen.
Conclusions
The results of this pilot study suggest that the personalized mHealth tool SAM can support adults with autism in detecting stress, improving their stress coping skills and improving their self-rated quality of life. In practice, SAM can be seen as an external stress monitor that can easily be integrated in the lives of adults with autism, to detect and cope with stress.
期刊介绍:
Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders publishes high-quality research in the broad area of neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan. Study participants may include individuals with:Intellectual and developmental disabilitiesGlobal developmental delayCommunication disordersLanguage disordersSpeech sound disordersChildhood-onset fluency disorders (e.g., stuttering)Social (e.g., pragmatic) communication disordersUnspecified communication disordersAutism spectrum disorder (ASD)Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specified and unspecifiedSpecific learning disordersMotor disordersDevelopmental coordination disordersStereotypic movement disorderTic disorders, specified and unspecifiedOther neurodevelopmental disorders, specified and unspecifiedPapers may also include studies of participants with neurodegenerative disorders that lead to a decline in intellectual functioning, including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal degeneration, Huntington’s disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy. The journal includes empirical, theoretical and review papers on a large variety of issues, populations, and domains, including but not limited to: diagnosis; incidence and prevalence; and educational, pharmacological, behavioral and cognitive behavioral, mindfulness, and psychosocial interventions across the life span. Animal models of basic research that inform the understanding and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders are also welcomed. The journal is multidisciplinary and multi-theoretical, and encourages research from multiple specialties in the social sciences using quantitative and mixed-method research methodologies.