Humor Styles in Neurodevelopmental Conditions and Their Links to Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Strengths and Difficulties.

Background and Aims: When it is positive, humor can improve psychological well-being and social interactions, but when it is negative, it can also be harmful. As such, it is important to better understand what type of humor individuals with different neurodevelopmental conditions tend to use. This study investigated the use of four different humor styles, that is, affiliative, self-enhancing (both positive), aggressive, and self-defeating (both negative) humor, in individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), Down syndrome (DS), and Williams syndrome (WS). Moreover, it investigates the relation of potential differences in humor styles with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties and strengths. Methods: Parent-reported questionnaires were used to assess humor styles, social difficulties, and mental health in young individuals (5-25 years old) with ASC ( Results: The results revealed that autistic individuals are reported to use more self-defeating humor than both individuals with DS and WS, which seems to be related to increased externalizing conduct problems, as well as less affiliative humor which was associated with fewer emotional difficulties, better social cognition, and greater prosocial behavior. Conclusions and implications: These results are discussed in relation to how humor styles use enhances our understanding of humor in neurodevelopmental conditions.