Pilot study of the Stress Autism Mate application

At a glance

This study is designed to find out whether a new mobile application, Stress Autism Mate, can assist autistic adults to feel less stressed, better able to cope with life’s challenges, and experience a greater sense of wellbeing. Stress Autism Mate has been developed in collaboration with autistic adults and is specifically designed to support stress management in autistic adults. Emphasizing visual and written content, it focuses on behavioural strategies selected by the user while also generating feedback reports on stress-related activities, enabling therapists and clients to collaboratively target stress-reducing behaviours. Following early research in the Netherlands which has shown Stress Autism Mate to be useful for most users, this study is trialling Stress Autism Mate in English for the first time.

About

Background

Autistic adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing mental health conditions. One of the contributing factors to this is stress; autistic adults have been found to experience more lifetime stressors than non-autistic adults and generally perceive stress to be more severe. Research has indicated that the association between lifetime stressors and poor mental health can be mediated by perceived stressor severity. Accordingly, autistic adults are likely to benefit from interventions which support stress perception, stress management and work toward reducing perceived stressor severity. Stress Autism Mate is a tool specifically developed to help autistic adults and their therapists accommodate psychotherapeutic interventions for stress. As recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, it incorporates written and visual information and focuses on behaviour rather than cognitions. As a technology-based intervention, it is designed to provide a predictable and structured environment while also supporting autonomy.

Aim

To evaluate the real-world feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of the Stress Autism Mate app for autistic adults in Australia.

What does the research involve?

Eligible participants will download the Stress Autism Mate app and use it twice a day for four weeks. At set-up, participants can choose strategies for managing stress and select a preferred timeslot for the surveys. During the four-week trial period, the app will prompt participants to complete a two-minute survey to assess stress over the last four-hour period. It will give a stress rating and may recommend using a chosen strategy to help with stress (e.g. listen to music). All participants will be asked to complete an initial baseline survey, post survey (after using the app for four weeks), and follow-up survey (four weeks after finishing using the app) to determine whether the app made a difference (e.g. helped them to feel less stressed) and whether any differences detected while using the app have lasted.

Who can participate?

To be considered for this study, participants need to:

• Live in Australia
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Self-identify as autistic or have a formal diagnosis of autism
• Read and type English
• Have access to a smartphone
• Have experienced feelings of stress in the last month and not currently be engaged in any other interventions for stress