Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37663445›Full record

ArticleAutism in adulthood2023

The Inter-Relationship of Emotion Regulation, Self-Compassion, and Mental Health in Autistic Adults.

Ru Ying Cai, Abigail Love, Ainslie Robinson, Vicki Gibbs

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Autism in adulthood, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Self-Compassion and Psychological Outcomes in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. A Scoping Review on Positive Emotions and Affect in Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. A qualitative exploration of an autism-specific self-compassion program: The ASPAA.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2024
    Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ru Ying CaiAspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Autism Spectrum Australia, Frenchs Forest, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2954-0495
Abigail LoveAspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Autism Spectrum Australia, Frenchs Forest, Australia.
Ainslie RobinsonAspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Autism Spectrum Australia, Frenchs Forest, Australia.
Vicki GibbsAspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Autism Spectrum Australia, Frenchs Forest, Australia.
Autism CRC · AUThe University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Emotion regulation is one of the key factors that influence mental health outcomes in autistic and nonautistic populations. Recent research has also identified self-compassion as a negative correlate of depression and positive correlate of psychological well-being in autistic adults. Empirical evidence from the general population supports the notion that being kind and compassionate toward oneself during stressful and difficult moments can help with one's ability to regulate negative emotions, which then has flow-on effects on mental health outcomes. However, the inter-relationship between self-compassion, emotion regulation, and mental health has not been examined in autistic samples. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if emotion regulation mediates the relationship between self-compassion and anxiety or depression in a sample of autistic adults. Methods: Participants were 153 adults (mean Results: As predicted, only emotion regulation mediated the relationship between self-compassion and mental health outcomes. Self-compassion did not mediate the relationship between emotion regulation and mental health outcomes. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence for the role that self-compassion plays in improving emotion regulation and mental health in autistic adults. If this mechanism of emotion regulation mediating the relationship between self-compassion and mental health is consistently found in future studies, then it would be helpful for future research to examine the clinical benefits of including a self-compassion component in emotion regulation interventions to improve mental health outcomes of autistic adults.

Indexed as

anxietyautismdepressionemotional well-beingself-compassion

Identifiers

PMID37663445
PMCPMC10468559
OpenAlexW4318486647

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.