Examining the effect of a wearable, anxiety detection technology on improving the awareness of anxiety signs in autism spectrum disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial.
ASD
Anxiety
Autism
Intervention
Wearables
Journal
Molecular autism
ISSN: 2040-2392
Titre abrégé: Mol Autism
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101534222
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
14 11 2021
14 11 2021
Historique:
received:
31
03
2021
accepted:
03
11
2021
entrez:
15
11
2021
pubmed:
16
11
2021
medline:
7
4
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Anxiety is prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can negatively impact physical and mental health. Self-awareness of anxiety signs is a key barrier to success of anxiety interventions for many children. To address this, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess whether the Anxiety Meter, a wearable, real-time anxiety detection technology, can improve awareness of anxiety symptoms and the initiation of relaxation techniques in children with ASD. Twenty-eight children with ASD were trained on the use of the Anxiety Meter and taught a diaphragmatic breathing relaxation technique over three visits. On the fourth visit, participants were randomized to either receive feedback of their anxiety level or no feedback from the Anxiety Meter while completing a stress-eliciting task (public speaking) and asked to engage in deep breathing if anxious. Feedback from the Anxiety Meter was associated with increased likelihood of initiating deep breathing in response to anxiety. Limitations include the small sample size, imbalanced group matching for IQ and sex, and the controlled-laboratory settings which limit the statistical power and generalizability of the results to real-world settings. Although these results are limited by the relatively small sample size, they support the feasibility of using a wearable device and real-time feedback to improve anxiety symptom awareness. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02160691, registration date: 06/05/2014.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Anxiety is prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can negatively impact physical and mental health. Self-awareness of anxiety signs is a key barrier to success of anxiety interventions for many children.
METHODS
To address this, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess whether the Anxiety Meter, a wearable, real-time anxiety detection technology, can improve awareness of anxiety symptoms and the initiation of relaxation techniques in children with ASD. Twenty-eight children with ASD were trained on the use of the Anxiety Meter and taught a diaphragmatic breathing relaxation technique over three visits. On the fourth visit, participants were randomized to either receive feedback of their anxiety level or no feedback from the Anxiety Meter while completing a stress-eliciting task (public speaking) and asked to engage in deep breathing if anxious.
RESULTS
Feedback from the Anxiety Meter was associated with increased likelihood of initiating deep breathing in response to anxiety.
LIMITATIONS
Limitations include the small sample size, imbalanced group matching for IQ and sex, and the controlled-laboratory settings which limit the statistical power and generalizability of the results to real-world settings.
CONCLUSIONS
Although these results are limited by the relatively small sample size, they support the feasibility of using a wearable device and real-time feedback to improve anxiety symptom awareness. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02160691, registration date: 06/05/2014.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34775994
doi: 10.1186/s13229-021-00477-z
pii: 10.1186/s13229-021-00477-z
pmc: PMC8591877
doi:
Banques de données
ClinicalTrials.gov
['NCT02160691']
Types de publication
Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
72Informations de copyright
© 2021. The Author(s).
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