The association between alexithymia, interoception, and anxiety in autistic adolescents

Supervisors: Gaby Pfeifer, Lisa Quadt, Matt Garner

Abstract

It is well-established that the prevalence of anxiety amongst autistic individuals is significantly greater than in the general population (National Autistic Society, 2021). Adolescence in particular can be a time of increased anxiety for autistic individuals as a result of an increasing complexity in social interaction and increased awareness of difference during this time (White et al., 2009).

Interoception is increasingly being explored in relation to anxiety, and research has begun to explore the link between interoception and anxiety in autistic groups, with a suggestion that a discrepancy between interoceptive accuracy and sensibility may result in a diminished capacity to regulate, resulting in greater levels of anxiety (Maisel et al., 2016).

Given its role in emotional processing, Alexithymia, which is believed to be more prevalent in autistic populations, may also play a role in the interaction between autism, interoception, and anxiety.  This study aims to contribute to an understanding of anxiety in autistic adolescents by exploring the associations between interoception, alexithymia, and anxiety in this population.

Thirty-seven participants were recruited for the study. Questionnaires were utilised to measure autism traits, anxiety, alexithymia and interoceptive sensibility. In addition, behavioural measures of cardiac interoception, with confidence judgements, were used to measure interoceptive accuracy and awareness. It is anticipated that correlation and regression analyses will be used to analyse the data.