Smartphone Mindfulness Autism Research Team Study

A significant proportion of individuals diagnosed with autism are also diagnosed with one or more anxiety disorders. Since stress and anxiety in autism have been found to exacerbate common symptoms associated with autism, such as sleep problems and sensory sensitivities, having effective strategies to manage anxiety and stress may be particularly beneficial for autistic individuals. Mindfulness-based therapies have been increasingly recognized as promising interventions to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve mental health in individuals with and without autism. Several studies of individuals without autism have demonstrated that remote digital mindfulness training is equally as effective as traditional in-person mindfulness training in reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing well-being. However, there is little research investigating remote app-based mindfulness training for autistic individuals, which could be especially beneficial with this population due to anxiety and other constraints that make in-person training less feasible.

The primary objective is to assess efficacy of a six-week remote self-guided mindfulness intervention in reducing anxiety and stress in autistic adults. Autistic adults were invited to participate in a remote app-based mindfulness study where participants use their smartphones to complete the six-week structured mindfulness intervention. Participants were block randomized (based on initial trait anxiety scores) to either an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention group immediately received the online mindfulness intervention. The wait-list control group received the same intervention program six-weeks later. All sessions and assessments were delivered online; thus participants were allowed maximal flexibility in participating in this fully remote intervention.

Self-reported levels of stress, anxiety, positive and negative emotions, and trait/dispositional mindfulness were measured at four time-points throughout the study: before the intervention, half-way through (at 3 weeks), after the intervention, and at follow-up (6 weeks after the end of the intervention). The wait-list control group was assessed at two additional time-points: before they began their waiting period and half-way through their waiting period (at 3 weeks). The primary aim of the study is to compare between-group (and secondarily, within-group) outcome measures to determine whether stress and anxiety levels decrease after the mindfulness intervention and whether they decrease above and beyond any decreases experienced by the wait-list control group.

Additionally, the study aims to:

• Determine whether and how changes in mindfulness are associated with changes in anxiety and stress, over the course of the intervention, including whether there is a negative association of mindfulness with stress and anxiety. In using two different measures of mindfulness the specific components of mindfulness can be examined that appear to be most likely to change and most likely to be (negatively) associated with stress and anxiety.
• Assess the feasibility of such a remote intervention with this sample of autistic adults by examining: