Alexithymic and autistic traits in children and adolescents: A systematic review of the current state of knowledge
(2022) Autism : the international journal of research and practice — Vol. 26, n° 2, p. 308-316 (2022)
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- (en) Research evidence suggests that heterogeneity in emotion processing difficulties in autistic individuals may reflect co-occurring alexithymia. Elevated levels of alexithymia is a robust finding in the adult autistic population but there is a relative poverty regarding the corresponding research in younger populations. The aim of this review is to investigate associations between autism and alexithymia in children and adolescents, so that we can better understand the nature and impact of alexithymia in autistic individuals early on in their lives. Online scientific databases were systematically reviewed for studies on autistic children and adolescents and co-occurring alexithymia. A total of eight studies were identified. Evidence indicated that alexithymia prevalence in autistic individuals is higher compared to their typically developing peers and is closely related to the emotional and social deficits involved in autism but not to the associated cognitive deficits. Main concerns associated with these results are related to the alexithymia assessment measures implemented in each study, their limitations, and potential effects on the validity of findings. This review sheds light on the topic of alexithymia in children and adolescents and underscores the difficulties in conducting this research, while providing insights for research with autistic children and adolescents.
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Vaiouli, P., Luminet, O., & Panayiotou, G. (2022). Alexithymic and autistic traits in children and adolescents: A systematic review of the current state of knowledge. Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 26(2), 308-316. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211058512 (Original work published 2022)