Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39333448›Full record

ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026

Exploring Emotion Control and Alexithymia in Autistic Adults: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Mădălina Elena Costache, Federica Gioia, Nicola Vanello, Alberto Greco, François Lefebvre, Antonio Capobianco, Sébastien Weibel, Luisa Weiner

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment in autism research.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. 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

8 authors.

Mădălina Elena CostacheLaboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions, Faculté de Psychologie, University of Strasbourg, 12 Rue Goethe, 67000, Strasbourg, France. me.costache@unistra.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1204-3521
Federica GioiaDipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Nicola VanelloDipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Alberto GrecoDipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
François LefebvreDepartment of Biostatistics, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France.
Antonio CapobiancoIngineering Science, Computer Science and Imagery Laboratory, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
Sébastien WeibelCognitive Neuropsychology and Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, University of Strasbourg, INSERM 1114, Strasbourg, France.
Luisa WeinerLaboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions, Faculté de Psychologie, University of Strasbourg, 12 Rue Goethe, 67000, Strasbourg, France.

Funding

John Bost Foundation AAP 2021
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Difficulties in controlling emotions - a proxy for emotion dysregulation (ED)-and difficulties in expressing feelings in words-'absence of emotion labelling' or alexithymia-co-exist in autism and contribute to elevated levels of impulsive and suicidal behaviour. To date, studies linking the two phenomena have relied on retrospective self-reported measures, lacking support for generalizability to real-life situations. The present study investigated in vivo emotion labelling and its impact on emotion control in 29 autistic adults without intellectual disability (ASC) and 28 neurotypical (NT) individuals of similar age, sex, and educational level. Participants were trained in an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to label their emotions, the arousal dimension, and their emotion control via smartphone over a one-week period. Findings showed that the ASC group experienced more instances of 'having an emotion that I cannot name' and, when they were able to label their emotions, they reported higher rates of negative and conflicting (simultaneously positive and negative) emotions. In both groups, the absence of emotion labelling, and intense negative emotions were associated with impaired emotion control. However, the association between lack of emotional awareness-'I have no emotion'-and impaired emotion control was only evident in ASC individuals. Our study highlights a nuanced facet of emotional processing in the ASC population. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between ED and alexithymia in autism.

Indexed as

Affective SymptomsAutistic DisorderEmotional RegulationEmotionsAdultEcological Momentary AssessmentFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultAutism spectrum conditionEcological momentary assessmentEmotion controlEmotion labellingMultilevel modelling

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.