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Lower Electrodermal Activity to Acute Stress in Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Adaptive Habituation to Stress

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Abstract

Caring for a relative with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entails being under chronic stress that could alter body homeostasis. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is an index of the sympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system related to emotionality and homeostasis. This study compares EDA in response to acute stress in the laboratory between parents of people with (n = 30) and without (n = 34) ASD (caregivers and non-caregivers, respectively). Caregivers showed lower EDA in response to acute stress than non-caregivers. They also presented higher trait anxiety, anger, depression, and somatic symptoms than non-caregivers. Higher EDA was related to a worse mood and more severe somatic symptoms only in caregivers. These results could reflect an adaptive habituation to stress and establish that high EDA in response to acute stress depends on caregivers’ health.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PSI2008-0448/PSIC), and the Committee for Business, Research, and Science of the Regional Government of Valencia, research groups and networks of excellence (ACOMP/2010/250; PROMETEO/2011/048; ISIC/2013/001). This research is part of the doctoral dissertation project of the first author, financed by the University of Valencia (“Atracció de Talents” VLC-CAMPUS 2011). Authors also wish to thank “INC Servicios Lingüísticos” and John Rawlins for the revision of the English text.

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  1. Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010, Valencia, Spain

    Nicolás Ruiz-Robledillo & Luis Moya-Albiol

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  1. Nicolás Ruiz-Robledillo
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Correspondence to Luis Moya-Albiol.

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Ruiz-Robledillo, N., Moya-Albiol, L. Lower Electrodermal Activity to Acute Stress in Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Adaptive Habituation to Stress. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 576–588 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1996-3

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