UC Santa Barbara

Interpersonal psychophysiology is increasingly being used as a measure of engagement or attunement between two people. This construct is characterized as the relationship between two individuals’ physiology over the course of an unfolding social interaction. This physiological activity can become correlative and mutually influential, which is often referred to as psychophysiological synchrony (PS). Research suggests that parent-child synchrony measured via physiological constructs can be related to the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms in young children. While the symptoms of ASD appear to negatively affect parent-child PS, it may be possible to address these concerns with targeted treatments. The current study examined the efficacy of an adapted version of Pivotal Response Treatment aimed at incorporating social reinforcement into the treatment and specifically training parents on these techniques on parent-child PS. Additionally, the difference in PS levels between ASD and typically developing parent-child dyads was examined to determine if this is a promising area to target via intervention. Lastly, measures of PS were compared to behaviorally coded measures of social engagement to determine if this unique outcome can be detected visually.

Participants included 9 children with ASD and 7 typically developing (TD) children and their parents. Standardized assessments and video probes were administered before and after six months of PRT to obtain preliminary outcome data on child development, the parent-child bond, and parent fidelity of implementation. Physiological data was collected from parent-child dyads during brief family interaction videos to assess for PS. Results indicated that there were significant changes following intervention on some standardized measures of language and ASD symptoms, but not physiological measures. Additionally, there was not a significant different between ASD and TD dyads in PS levels at baseline. Finally, some measures of visually observed social engagement appear to be correlated to PS, however these correlations changed over the course of intervention.

Despite these mixed results, this pilot study indicated that the use of PS in ASD research is promising with adaptations to study design, measure conceptualization, and data analysis. Further research could serve to further refine the utilization of this more objective measure of parent-child engagement for its eventual use as a quick and unbiased predictor of treatment outcome and a construct through which to tailor intervention, which could have lasting consequences for improving long-term social outcomes of children with ASD and their families.