Definition
At the core of mental health and well-being lies the ability to manage negative emotions. Emotion regulation is “the processes related to modifying one’s emotions to fit the context or meet one’s goals” (Thompson 1994). We all carry a toolbox of strategies to regulate our emotions (Calkins 1994; John and Gross 2007), which can be driven by ourselves, or driven by others, and can be active or passive (Gross 1998; Gyurak and Etkin 2014). Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty with regulating their emotions, which has been found to impact their behavioral and mental health. An emerging field of research has documented the strategies that children with ASD use to regulate their emotion and how these strategies overlap and differ from their typically developing peers across ages. Of particular importance is the emergence of emotion regulation strategies early in life.
Historical Background
Emotion regulation skills have been shown to predict school...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References and Reading
Ashburner, J., Ziviani, J., & Rodger, S. (2008). Sensory processing and classroom emotional, behavioral, and educational outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62(5), 564–573.
Ashburner, J., Ziviani, J., & Rodger, S. (2010). Surviving in the mainstream: Capacity of children with autism spectrum disorders to perform academically and regulate their emotions and behavior at school. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(1), 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2009.07.002.
Bauminger, N., Solomon, M., & Rogers, S. J. (2010). Externalizing and internalizing behaviors in ASD. Autism Research, 3(3), 101–112.
Berthoz, S., & Hill, E. L. (2005). The validity of using self-reports to assess emotion regulation abilities in adults with autism spectrum disorder. European Psychiatry, 20(3), 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.013.
Bruggink, A., Huisman, S., Vuijk, R., Kraaij, V., & Garnefski, N. (2016). Cognitive emotion regulation, anxiety and depression in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 22, 34–44.
Buss, K. A., & Goldsmith, H. H. (1998). Fear and anger regulation in infancy: Effects on the temporal dynamics of affective expression. Child Development, 69(2), 359–374.
Cai, R. Y., Richdale, A. L., Dissanayake, C., Trollor, J., & Uljarević, M. (2019). Emotion regulation in autism: Reappraisal and suppression interactions. Autism, 23(3), 737–749.
Calkins, S. D. (1994). Origins and outcomes of individual differences in emotion regulation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5834.1994.tb01277.x.
Charney, R. (1980). Speech roles and the development of personal pronouns. Journal of Child Language, 7(03), 509–528.
Cohen, J. S., & Mendez, J. L. (2009). Emotion regulation, language ability, and the stability of preschool children’s peer play behavior. Early Education and Development, 20(6), 1016–1037.
Cole, P. M., Michel, M. K., & Teti, L. O. (1994). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation: A clinical perspective. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 73–102.
Conner, C. M., White, S. W., Beck, K. B., Golt, J., Smith, I. C., & Mazefsky, C. A. (2019). Improving emotion regulation ability in autism: The Emotional Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program. Autism, 23(5), 1273–1287. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318810709.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 39–80.
DeSocio, J. E. (2005). Accessing self-development through narrative approaches in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing: Official Publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc., 18(2), 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6171.2005.00012.x.
Eisenberg, N., Cumberland, A., & Spinrad, T. L. (1998). Parental socialization of emotion. Psychological Inquiry, 9(4), 241–273.
Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, I. K., Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S., Losoya, S., Murphy, B. C., … Reiser, M. (2000). Prediction of elementary school children’s externalizing problem behaviors from attentional and behavioral regulation and negative emotionality. Child Development, 71, 1367–1382.
Eisenberg, N., Cumberland, A., Spinrad, T. L., Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S. A., Reiser, M., … Guthrie, I. K. (2001). The relations of regulation and emotionality to children’s externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. Child Development, 72(4), 1112–1134.
Fenning, R. M., Baker, J. K., & Moffitt, J. (2018). Intrinsic and extrinsic predictors of emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(11), 3858–3870.
Gallagher, T. M. (1999). Interrelationships among children’s language, behavior, and emotional problems. Topics in Language Disorders, 19(2), 1–15.
Goldsmith, S. F., & Kelley, E. (2018). Associations between emotion regulation and social impairment in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(6), 2164–2173.
Gomez, C. R., & Baird, S. (2005). Identifying early indicators for autism in self-regulation difficulties. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20(2), 106–116.
Gottman, J. M. (1986). The world of coordinated play: Same-and cross-sex friendship in young children. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1987-97934-004
Graziano, P. A., Reavis, R. D., Keane, S. P., & Calkins, S. D. (2007). The role of emotion regulation in children’s early academic success. Journal of School Psychology, 45(1), 3–19.
Grolnick, W. S., Bridges, L. J., & Connell, J. P. (1996). Emotion regulation in two-year-olds: Strategies and emotional expression in four contexts. Child Development, 67(3), 928–941.
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271.
Gulsrud, A. C., Jahromi, L. B., & Kasari, C. (2010). The co-regulation of emotions between mothers and their children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(2), 227–237.
Gumora, G., & Arsenio, W. F. (2002). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and school performance in middle school children. Journal of School Psychology, 40(5), 395–413.
Gyurak, A., & Etkin, A. (2014). A neurobiological model of implicit and explicit emotion regulation. In Handbook of emotional regulation (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford, 20318.
Hastings, R. P., & Bham, M. S. (2003). The relationship between student behaviour patterns and teacher burnout. School Psychology International, 24(1), 115–127.
Hastings, R. P., & Brown, T. (2002). Coping strategies and the impact of challenging behaviors on special educators’ burnout. Mental Retardation, 40(2), 148–156.
Hill, A. L., Degnan, K. A., Calkins, S. D., & Keane, S. P. (2006). Profiles of externalizing behavior problems for boys and girls across preschool: The roles of emotion regulation and inattention. Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 913.
Hobson, R. P. (1990). On the origins of self and the case of autism. Development and Psychopathology, 2(2), 163–181.
Hobson, R. P. (2010). Explaining autism: Ten reasons to focus on the developing self. Autism, 14(5), 391–407.
Howse, R. B., Calkins, S. D., Anastopoulos, A. D., Keane, S. P., & Shelton, T. L. (2003). Regulatory contributors to children’s kindergarten achievement. Early Education and Development, 14(1), 101–120.
Jahromi, L. B., Meek, S. E., & Ober-Reynolds, S. (2012). Emotion regulation in the context of frustration in children with high functioning autism and their typical peers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(12), 1250–1258. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02560.x.
Jahromi, L. B., Bryce, C. I., & Swanson, J. (2013). The importance of self-regulation for the school and peer engagement of children with high-functioning autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(2), 235–246.
John, O. P., & Gross, J. J. (2007). Individual differences in emotion regulation. In Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 351–372).
Khor, A. S., Melvin, G. A., Reid, S. C., & Gray, K. M. (2014). Coping, daily hassles and behavior and emotional problems in adolescents with high-functioning Autism/Asperger’s disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(3), 593–608.
Konstantareas, M. M., & Stewart, K. (2006). Affect regulation and temperament in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0051-4.
Kopp, C. B. (1989). Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view. Developmental Psychology, 25(3), 343.
Loveland, K. A. (1984). Learning about points of view: Spatial perspective and the acquisition of ‘I/you’. Journal of Child Language, 11(03), 535–556.
Mazefsky, C. A., Herrington, J., Siegel, M., Scarpa, A., Maddox, B. B., Scahill, L., & White, S. W. (2013). The role of emotion regulation in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(7), 679–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.006.
Mazefsky, C. A., Borue, X., Day, T. N., & Minshew, N. J. (2014). Emotion regulation patterns in adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: Comparison to typically developing adolescents and association with psychiatric symptoms. Autism Research, 7(3), 344–354.
McLean, K. C., Pasupathi, M., & Pals, J. L. (2007). Selves creating stories creating selves: A process model of self-development. Personality and Social Psychology Review: An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc., 11(3), 262–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868307301034.
Morales, M., Mundy, P., Crowson, M. M., Neal, A. R., & Delgado, C. E. (2005). Individual differences in infant attention skills, joint attention, and emotion regulation behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(3), 259–263.
Nelson, S., Korbut, S., Hedley, D., Dissanayake, C., & Nuske, H. (under review). Parent-facilitated emotion regulation strategies predict positive school engagement and self-development in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Nuske, H. J., Vivanti, G., & Dissanayake, C. (2013). Are emotion impairments unique to, universal, or specific in autism spectrum disorder? A comprehensive review. Cognition & Emotion, 27(6), 1042–1061. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2012.762900.
Nuske, H. J., Hedley, D., Woollacott, A., Thomson, P., Macari, S., & Dissanayake, C. (2017). Developmental delays in emotion regulation strategies in preschoolers with autism. Autism Research, 10, 1808.
Nuske, H. J., Hedley, D., Tseng, C. H., Begeer, S., & Dissanayake, C. (2018). Emotion regulation strategies in preschoolers with autism: Associations with parent quality of life and family functioning. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(4), 1287–1300.
Patel, S., Day, T. N., Jones, N., & Mazefsky, C. A. (2017). Association between anger rumination and autism symptom severity, depression symptoms, aggression, and general dysregulation in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 21(2), 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316633566.
Pfeifer, J. H., & Peake, S. J. (2012). Self-development: Integrating cognitive, socioemotional, and neuroimaging perspectives. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2011.07.012.
Pouw, L. B., Rieffe, C., Oosterveld, P., Huskens, B., & Stockmann, L. (2013a). Reactive/proactive aggression and affective/cognitive empathy in children with ASD. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(4), 1256–1266.
Pouw, L. B., Rieffe, C., Stockmann, L., & Gadow, K. D. (2013b). The link between emotion regulation, social functioning, and depression in boys with ASD. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7(4), 549–556.
Raver, C. C. (1996). Relations between social contingency in mother-child interaction and 2-year-olds’ social competence. Developmental Psychology, 32(5), 850.
Rieffe, C., Oosterveld, P., Terwogt, M. M., Mootz, S., Van Leeuwen, E., & Stockmann, L. (2011). Emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361310366571.
Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., Fox, N. A., & Calkins, S. D. (1995). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and preschoolers’ social adaptation. Development and Psychopathology, 7(01), 49–62.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68.
Samson, A. C., Huber, O., & Gross, J. J. (2012). Emotion regulation in Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning autism. Emotion, 12(4), 659.
Samson, A. C., Phillips, J. M., Parker, K. J., Shah, S., Gross, J. J., & Hardan, A. Y. (2014). Emotion dysregulation and the core features of autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(7), 1766–1772.
Samson, A. C., Hardan, A. Y., Lee, I. A., Phillips, J. M., & Gross, J. J. (2015a). Maladaptive behavior in autism spectrum disorder: The role of emotion experience and emotion regulation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(11), 3424–3432.
Samson, A. C., Wells, W. M., Phillips, J. M., Hardan, A. Y., & Gross, J. J. (2015b). Emotion regulation in autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from parent interviews and children’s daily diaries. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(8), 903–913.
Santomauro, D., Sheffield, J., & Sofronoff, K. (2017). Investigations into emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative study. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 42(3), 275–284.
Scarpa, A., & Reyes, N. M. (2011). Improving emotion regulation with CBT in young children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders: A pilot study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 39(04), 495–500. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465811000063.
Schreibman, L., Dawson, G., Stahmer, A. C., Landa, R., Rogers, S. J., McGee, G. G., … others. (2015). Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: Empirically validated treatments for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45, 2411–2428.
Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. S. (2003). Adolescents’ emotion regulation in daily life: Links to depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Child Development, 74(6), 1869–1880.
Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 25–52.
Ting, V., & Weiss, J. A. (2017). Emotion regulation and parent co-regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(3), 680–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-3009-9.
Totsika, V., Hastings, R. P., Emerson, E., Lancaster, G. A., & Berridge, D. M. (2011). A population-based investigation of behavioural and emotional problems and maternal mental health: Associations with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(1), 91–99.
Vivanti, G., & Rogers, S. J. (2014). Autism and the mirror neuron system: Insights from learning and teaching. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1644), 20130184.
Vivanti, G., Hocking, D. R., Fanning, P., & Dissanayake, C. (2016). Social affiliation motives modulate spontaneous learning in Williams syndrome but not in autism. Molecular Autism, 7(1), 40.
Zantinge, G., van Rijn, S., Stockmann, L., & Swaab, H. (2017). Physiological arousal and emotion regulation strategies in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(9), 2648–2657.
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Skinner, E. A. (2011). Review: The development of coping across childhood and adolescence: An integrative review and critique of research. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35(1), 1–17.
Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P. (2005). Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23(2), 143–152.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Nuske, H.J., Mazefsky, C. (2020). Emotion Regulation Strategies in Preschoolers with Autism. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102419-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102419-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences