Alexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty predict somatic symptoms in autistic and non-autistic adults

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLarkin, Fionnuala
dc.contributor.authorRalston, Brianna
dc.contributor.authorDinsdale, Sophie Jayne
dc.contributor.authorKimura, Sakura
dc.contributor.authorHayiou-Thomas, Marianna Emma
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-20T11:16:43Z
dc.date.available2022-07-20T11:16:43Z
dc.date.issued2022-07-15
dc.date.updated2022-07-20T11:11:34Z
dc.description.abstractAutistic people experience heightened rates of physical health problems but may also experience elevated levels of somatic symptoms (e.g. pain, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms) due to psychological factors which are common in autism. This online study sought to compare rates of somatic symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-15) in older adolescents and adults who were autistic (n = 51), non-autistic (n = 119) and who suspected they were autistic (n = 32), while controlling for health conditions. We investigated psychological risk factors that may predispose individuals to experience somatic symptoms, including alexithymia (General Alexithymia Factor Score), interoception (Body Awareness Questionnaire) and intolerance of uncertainty (Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale). Diagnosed autistic individuals had higher rates of alexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty. We also found higher somatic symptoms in diagnosed autistic individuals, controlling for mental and physical health. However, hierarchical regression showed that somatic symptoms were predicted by physical and mental health conditions, female gender, alexithymia, and intolerance of uncertainty, regardless of autism status. The results suggest that autistic and non-autistic individuals experience more bodily discomfort in part due to gender, physical and mental health, alexithymia, and difficulty tolerating uncertainty. Implications for mental and physical health care in autism are discussed.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationLarkin, F., Ralston, B., Dinsdale, S. J., Kimura, S. and Hayiou-Thomas, M. E. (2022) ‘Alexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty predict somatic symptoms in autistic and non-autistic adults’, Autism, (14 pp). doi: 10.1177/13623613221109717en
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/13623613221109717en
dc.identifier.endpage14en
dc.identifier.issn1362-3613
dc.identifier.journaltitleAutismen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/13380
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSageen
dc.relation.urihttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613221109717
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2022en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectAlexithymiaen
dc.subjectAutismen
dc.subjectInteroceptionen
dc.subjectIntolerance of uncertaintyen
dc.subjectSomatic symptomsen
dc.titleAlexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty predict somatic symptoms in autistic and non-autistic adultsen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
13623613221109717.pdf
Size:
253.47 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
sj-docx-1-aut-10.1177_13623613221109717.docx
Size:
37.49 KB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Supplemental material
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Applied Psychology - Journal Articles