Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Introduction Stress is not experienced the same by everyone. Some individuals, such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are at risk of heightened sensitivity to stress responses. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly characterised by deficits in social communication and socia...

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Main Authors: Samantha Burns, Agnes S K Wong, Earl Woodruff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2022-06-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e060048.full
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author Samantha Burns
Agnes S K Wong
Earl Woodruff
author_facet Samantha Burns
Agnes S K Wong
Earl Woodruff
author_sort Samantha Burns
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Stress is not experienced the same by everyone. Some individuals, such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are at risk of heightened sensitivity to stress responses. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly characterised by deficits in social communication and social interaction. Among different stressor stimuli, social stressors are particularly worth our attention due to the social and communication challenges inherent in ASD. This study aims to systematically evaluate different social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in ASD, focusing on the children and adolescent population.Methods and analysis We designed a study protocol for this study and submitted it to PROSPERO for systematic review registration. Any studies with children and adolescents with ASD between the ages of 0 and 18 in clinical and community settings will be included. All types of social stressor interventions will be included. The outcome of interest will include studies with physiological activity of the participants being measured, for example, measures related to autonomic functioning, electrodermal functioning and cortisol level. The primary literature sources will be across four electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo and CINAHL in August 2021. The second source of literature will be across grey literature, including ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global and across clinical trial registries in August 2021. Hand searching of references will be performed on the reference lists of all included studies. Two volunteers pursuing postgraduate-level studies will independently search and screen potential studies for eligibility. Finally, all references considered by hand searching will be reviewed by two researchers. The methodological quality of the research will be assessed by adopting the quality assessment used by a previous study. The assessment consists of four primary categories: descriptive validity, internal validity, external validity and statistical conclusion validity.Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required for this study. Results will be disseminated through conferences and publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021244039.
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spelling doaj-art-b9fe3a01e1464728ac92395033d454772025-02-01T10:35:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-06-0112610.1136/bmjopen-2021-060048Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocolSamantha Burns0Agnes S K Wong1Earl Woodruff2Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaOntario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaOntario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaIntroduction Stress is not experienced the same by everyone. Some individuals, such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are at risk of heightened sensitivity to stress responses. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly characterised by deficits in social communication and social interaction. Among different stressor stimuli, social stressors are particularly worth our attention due to the social and communication challenges inherent in ASD. This study aims to systematically evaluate different social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in ASD, focusing on the children and adolescent population.Methods and analysis We designed a study protocol for this study and submitted it to PROSPERO for systematic review registration. Any studies with children and adolescents with ASD between the ages of 0 and 18 in clinical and community settings will be included. All types of social stressor interventions will be included. The outcome of interest will include studies with physiological activity of the participants being measured, for example, measures related to autonomic functioning, electrodermal functioning and cortisol level. The primary literature sources will be across four electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo and CINAHL in August 2021. The second source of literature will be across grey literature, including ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global and across clinical trial registries in August 2021. Hand searching of references will be performed on the reference lists of all included studies. Two volunteers pursuing postgraduate-level studies will independently search and screen potential studies for eligibility. Finally, all references considered by hand searching will be reviewed by two researchers. The methodological quality of the research will be assessed by adopting the quality assessment used by a previous study. The assessment consists of four primary categories: descriptive validity, internal validity, external validity and statistical conclusion validity.Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required for this study. Results will be disseminated through conferences and publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021244039.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e060048.full
spellingShingle Samantha Burns
Agnes S K Wong
Earl Woodruff
Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
BMJ Open
title Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
title_full Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
title_fullStr Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
title_full_unstemmed Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
title_short Examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
title_sort examining the impact of social stressor stimuli in eliciting physiological reactivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder a systematic review and meta analysis protocol
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e060048.full
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