Multimethod examination of change in autistic preschoolers' emotion dysregulation in the context of parenting stress intervention

Abstract

Background Many autistic preschoolers experience heightened emotion dysregulation and rely heavily on parents for co‐regulatory support, which may be compromised by elevated parenting stress. Methods We examined secondary outcomes of a randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov – NCT03459625) to assess downstream effects of parent stress‐reduction interventions (MBSR vs. Psychoeducational Support) on emotion dysregulation in autistic children with diverse developmental and behavioral profiles ( N = 117). We also explored cross‐method, cross‐context correspondence between parent report of children's regulatory tendencies and observational ratings derived from independent and dyadic parent–child problem‐solving tasks. Results Parent‐reported child dysregulation and observed dyadic dysregulation decreased significantly across groups, with reduced parenting stress predicting decreased parent‐reported dysregulation. Conversely, observed child independent dysregulation remained relatively stable. Meaningful multimethod associations were identified. Conclusions Results suggest important collateral benefits of parenting stress reduction during the sensitive postdiagnostic period and highlight the sensitivity and utility of parent‐reported and observed dyadic dysregulation as trial outcomes, including the new Emotion Dysregulation Inventory‐Young Child. Implications for conceptualization and measurement of emotion dysregulation in autism are discussed, as are considerations for optimizing environmental supports.