Elevated stress levels in autistic adolescents may significantly hinder their quality of life and development. Stress Autism Mate (SAM) Junior, a mobile self-help tool, was designed in co-creation with adolescents with autism to enhance stress recognition and reduce daily stress. To improve its effectiveness, this qualitative study examined user experiences with the app, focusing on identifying factors that may influence users’ willingness to begin and continue its use. A total of 15 adolescents with autism (12 girls, 3 boys) aged between 12 and 18 years were recruited from three Dutch mental health care facilities. They were asked to use the SAM Junior app daily for at least 1 week before taking part in a 30-min semi-structured interview. Utilizing the User Experience Technology Acceptance Model as a theoretical framework, deductive thematic analysis was performed on four main themes: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, hedonic quality, and health improvement. While user experiences varied substantially, participants generally expressed moderate satisfaction with the app’s stress-reducing potential. Several features could be viewed as ambiguous, frustrating, and stress inducing, while some could also be overlooked. These hindrances limited both the app’s use and perceived effectiveness. Overall, the SAM Junior app was perceived as promising but flawed in its current form. The participants’ feedback demonstrated how autistic traits can contribute to technostress and shape user experiences, offering multiple directions to improve the app and similar mHealth interventions for autistic adolescents.

Social pain sensitivity refers to the tendency to detect and react strongly to cues of social exclusion. Frequent social adversities and specific characteristics may make individuals with autism more sensitive to social pain, yet evidence remains inconsistent. To enhance our understanding, autistic adults aged ≥ 16 years (n = 1425; Mage = 47.3, SD = 14.2) and allistic adults (n = 187; Mage = 51.4, SD = 14.6) enrolled in the Netherlands Autism Register (NAR) completed the Social Pain Questionnaire (SPQ). A two-way ANOVA demonstrated that autistic adults reported significantly higher social pain sensitivity than allistic adults, with a small effect size (η2 p = 0.02). Women reported higher social pain sensitivity than men across both groups (η2 p = 0.01), and this gender difference was comparable for autistic and allistic adults. Within the autistic group, in a subset of participants with complete data (n = 234), a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that social pain sensitivity was moderately associated with lower self-esteem (β = -0.47), but not with cognitive empathy or sensory sensitivity. Exploratory analyses further indicated that self-esteem fully accounted for the association between autism diagnosis and social pain sensitivity. Consistent with sociometer theory, these results suggest that heightened social pain sensitivity in autistic adults may reflect reduced perceived social acceptance. Our findings highlight the relevance of social adversities for autistic adults and underscore the need for supports that strengthen belonging and reduce socially painful experiences.

Background Autistic adults typically experience greater daily stress than their non-autistic counterparts, but professional mental health care is not always accessible or fitting. This qualitative study explored the user experiences of the Stress Autism Mate (SAM), a free co-created mobile application designed to reduce stress, among autistic adults not receiving mental health care.Methods A total of 15 autistic users (8 satisfied, 7 dissatisfied; aged 27-70; 4 men, 10 women, 1 non-binary) were recruited through a prior SAM trial database and autism-related social media groups for semi-structured online interviews. Interview questions were informed by the User Experience Technology Acceptance Model (UX-TAM), whereas themes were developed inductively through thematic analysis.Results Participants generally appreciated the SAM app's focus on enhancing stress recognition and its non-coercive, intuitive, and minimalist interface. Nevertheless, they found the app's stress tips insufficiently tailored to their context and the repeated login requirement frustrating. Satisfied users expressed a stronger need for stress-reducing support and greater trust in the app's developers and its scientific foundations. Dissatisfied users perceived the app's features as superficial and reported greater strain from attempting to adhere to its demands.Conclusions Despite the diverse user experiences, the findings highlight various avenues to improve the SAM app and similar standalone mHealth tools for autistic adults. Future adaptations should carefully balance the provision of structure and support with the risk of inducing technostress.

ObjectiveStudies indicate that stress levels of autistic adolescents may be particularly high. Therefore, support is needed to help them deal with their stressors. Stress Autism Mate (SAM) Junior, a mobile self-help tool, was designed in co-creation with adolescents with autism to help reduce daily stress levels. The app is based on the SAM app, which was previously shown to be effective in reducing stress in autistic adults. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SAM Junior app in reducing perceived stress and maladaptive coping styles, and increasing adaptive coping styles and quality of life in adolescents with autism.MethodsA total of 24 Dutch adolescents with autism participated in this Single Case Experimental Design study. Sixteen of them (9 girls and 7 boys; Mage = 15.0 years, SD = 1.9) completed all research phases. Data were collected at four time points separated by four weeks: Control, pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the data.ResultsAt post-test, use of the SAM Junior app had no significant effects on participants’ perceived stress (B = 0.31; 95% CI [-1.59, 2.22], p = .73), adaptive coping (B = -1.38; 95% CI [-5.69, 2.94], p = .51), maladaptive coping (B = -0.63; 95% CI [-4.56, 3.30], p = .74) and quality of life (B = -4.13; 95% CI [-12.19, 3.94], p = .29). These non-significant effects persisted at follow-up.DiscussionCurrent preliminary results do not show effectiveness of the SAM Junior app to support adolescents with autism. Using the app as intended, without professional supervision, may have been too complex for this population. Further research is needed to determine the potential effects of the SAM Junior app with more certainty.

SamenvattingGermie van den berg is programmaleider effectiviteit en integrale jeugdhulp bij het nederlands jeugdinstituut. Ook is ze bij de gemeente amsterdam coördinator van de academische werkplaats netwerk effectief jeugdstelsel amsterdam. Ze breekt een lans voor hechte lokale samenwerking tussen beleid, praktijk en onderzoek.

Dolf van Veen is buitengewoon hoofddocent Passend onderwijs en jeugdhulp (Hogeschool Windesheim), bijzonder hoogleraar aan de Universiteit van Nottingham en hoofd van het Nederlands Centrum Onderwijs en Jeugdzorg. Hij heeft een warm hart voor inclusief onderwijs en pleit voor hechte samenwerking tussen alle partijen.

Margrite Kalverboer is sinds april 2016 Kinderombudsman, al noemt ze zichzelf liever Kinderombudsvrouw, zoals kinderen in het Jeugdjournaal voorstelden. Daarnaast is ze bijzonder hoogleraar pedagogiek en vreemdelingenrecht aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Jelle Jolles is universiteitshoogleraar neuropsychologie aan de Vrije Universiteit. Hij slaat graag een brug tussen de wetenschap en de dagelijkse praktijk. Eind 2016 kwam zijn boek Het tienerbrein uit. Het is nu al een bestseller.

Lies Wenselaar (1954) is al meer dan dertig jaar psychiater en psychotherapeut in de kinder- en jeugdzorg. Eind 2015 schreef ze het boek dat zij naar eigen zeggen zelf altijd gemist had: Integrale hulpverlening aan ouders met psychiatrische en/of verslavingsproblemen en hun kinderen. Reden genoeg om Wenselaar te interviewen over haar boek en haar carrière.

Trudy Mooren (1965) heeft als klinisch psycholoog bij Centrum ’45 veel ervaring met diagnostiek en behandeling van psychotrauma bij onder andere vluchtelingen en asielzoekers. In Trudy’s kantoor in de kliniek in Diemen staat speelgoed op kinderhandhoogte opgesteld en staat een doos tissues klaar op de salontafel.

Liegen is niet netjes, dat leren we kleine kinderen. Liegen heeft een slechte reputatie, maar onderzoek laat zien dat het niet alleen menselijk is, maar in sommige situaties ook sociaal wenselijk. In een intrigerend gedragsexperiment werd aan adolescenten gevraagd om verschillende portrettekeningen te beoordelen op een schaal van 1 tot en met 7. Nadat alle tekeningen beoordeeld waren, liep een van de onderzoekers de kamer binnen. ‘Hee, dat is mijn tekening,’ zei de onderzoeker. ‘Welke score zou je deze geven?’ En wat blijkt nu? Oog in oog met de maker van de tekening liegen de adolescenten er spontaan een punt bij!

Voor haar onderzoek naar ADHD ontving Nanda Lambregts-Rommelse eind 2015 de prestigieuze Kramer Pollnow prijs. Een mooie aanleiding om haar te interviewen over haar werk als universitair hoofddocent bij het Radboud UMC en als psycholoog bij GGZ-instelling Karakter.

Hebben kinderen en adolescenten met een autismespectrumstoornis (ASS) minder empathie? In haar onderzoek heeft Anke Scheeren de empathische vermogens van deze kinderen bepaald. Hun scores verschilden nauwelijks van die van leeftijdgenoten zonder ASS. Ouders vertelden echter dat hun kind met ASS wel degelijk minder empathie toont in het dagelijks leven. De onderzoeksresultaten werpen een kritisch licht op de verschillende meetmethoden van empathie, en bieden implicaties voor de klinische praktijk.