SynthesisAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research2026
Examining the Relationship Between Social Motivation and Internalizing Symptoms in Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The Joy and the Pain of Being Alone: Managing the Solitude-Loneliness (SOLO) Paradox in People High on the Autism Spectrum.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The social motivation theory hypothesizes that autistic individuals' experience diminished social motivation due to reduced social reward, social orienting, and social maintaining. Low social motivation has been linked to increased vulnerability to internalizing difficulties within this population. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the relationship between social motivation and internalizing symptoms across the lifespan in autistic individuals. Relevant research papers until February 2025 were identified by searching EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42024547863). The systematic review included 14 studies (n = 4590). A total of three meta-analyses were run using Pearson's correlation coefficients between social motivation and (1) anxiety, (2) depression, and (3) social anxiety, and the moderating effect of age, sex, and study quality were assessed using meta-regressions. Sensitivity analyses were run to assess whether one study was influencing the results of the meta-analysis. Greater difficulties with social motivation are associated with increased anxiety, depression, and social anxiety, with a moderate pooled effect size across all domains. Sensitivity analyses did not significantly alter any of the results. Age, sex, and quality of study were nonsignificant moderators. Reduced social motivation may be associated with an increased vulnerability to internalizing difficulties in autistic individuals. The stability across age, sex, and study quality highlights social motivation as a potential transdiagnostic target for intervention in autistic individuals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.