Browsing by Author "Coffman, Marika"

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    A Preliminary Psychometric Analysis of the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) Among Autistic Adolescents and Adults: Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity.
    (Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2022-03) McVey, Alana J; Schiltz, Hillary K; Coffman, Marika; Antezana, Ligia; Magnus, Brooke
    Emotion dysregulation is common among autistic people, yet few measures have received psychometric evaluation in this population. We examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of a commonly-used measure of emotion dysregulation, the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), in a sample of 156 autistic adolescents and adults. Data were drawn from the NIH National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) and an author's existing dataset. Results demonstrated that the factor structure generally conformed to the original 6-factor model, with modifications. Reliability analyses revealed good-to-excellent internal consistencies. Validity analyses indicated that the DERS was positively associated with measures of anxiety, depression, and alexithymia. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of the DERS in a small autistic sample, with minor modifications.
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    Experiences of student and trainee autism researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2021-12-23) Kaku, Sowmyashree Mayur; McVey, Alana J; Gerber, Alan H; Pretzsch, Charlotte M; Jones, Desiree R; Kodakkadan, Fathima Muhsina; Lei, Jiedi; Singer, Lauren; Chitehwe, Lucy; Poulsen, Rebecca Elizabeth; Coffman, Marika
    Circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in significant personal and professional adjustments. Students and trainees, including those in autism research, face unique challenges to accomplishing their training and career goals during this unprecedented time. In this commentary, we, as members of the International Society for Autism Research Student and Trainee Committee, describe our personal experiences, which may or may not align with those of other students and trainees. Our experiences have varied both in terms of the ease (or lack thereof) with which we adapted and the degree to which we were supported in the transition to online research and clinical practice. We faced and continue to adjust to uncertainties about future training and academic positions, for which opportunities have been in decline and have subsequently negatively impacted our mental health. Students and trainees' prospects have been particularly impacted compared to more established researchers and faculty. In addition to the challenges we have faced, however, there have also been unexpected benefits in our training during the pandemic, which we describe here. We have learned new coping strategies which, we believe, have served us well. The overarching goal of this commentary is to describe these experiences and strategies in the hope that they will benefit the autism research community moving forward. Here, we provide a set of recommendations for faculty, especially mentors, to support students and trainees as well as strategies for students and trainees to bolster their self-advocacy, both of which we see as crucial for our future careers. LAY SUMMARY: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected students and trainees, including those in autism research, in different ways. Here, we describe our personal experiences. These experiences include challenges. For example, it has been difficult to move from in-person to online work. It has also been difficult to keep up with work and training goals. Moreover, working from home has made it hard to connect with our supervisors and mentors. As a result, many of us have felt unsure about how to make the best career choices. Working in clinical services and getting to know and support our patients online has also been challenging. Overall, the pandemic has made us feel more isolated and some of us have struggled to cope with that. On the other hand, our experiences have also included benefits. For example, by working online, we have been able to join meetings all over the world. Also, the pandemic has pushed us to learn new skills. Those include technical skills but also skills for well-being. Next, we describe our experiences of returning to work. Finally, we give recommendations for trainees and supervisors on how to support each other and to build a strong community.
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    Neural Mechanisms of Facial Emotion Recognition in Autism: Distinct Roles for Anterior Cingulate and dlPFC.
    (Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 2022-04-27) Richey, John A; Gracanin, Denis; LaConte, Stephen; Lisinski, Jonathan; Kim, Inyoung; Coffman, Marika; Antezana, Ligia; Carlton, Corinne N; Garcia, Katelyn M; White, Susan W

    Objective

    The present study sought to measure and internally validate neural markers of facial emotion recognition (FER) in adolescents and young adults with ASD to inform targeted intervention.

    Method

    We utilized fMRI to measure patterns of brain activity among individuals with ASD (N = 21) and matched controls (CON; N = 20) 2 s prior to judgments about the identity of six distinct facial emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, fearful, disgust).

    Results

    Predictive modeling of fMRI data (support vector classification; SVC) identified mechanistic roles for brain regions that forecasted correct and incorrect identification of facial emotion as well as sources of errors over these decisions. BOLD signal activation in bilateral insula, anterior cingulate (ACC) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) preceded accurate FER in both controls and ASD. Predictive modeling utilizing SVC confirmed the utility of ACC in forecasting correct decisions in controls but not ASD, and further indicated that a region within the right dlPFC was the source of a type 1 error signal in ASD (i.e. neural marker reflecting an impending correct judgment followed by an incorrect behavioral response) approximately two seconds prior to emotion judgments during fMRI.

    Conclusions

    ACC forecasted correct decisions only among control participants. Right dlPFC was the source of a false-positive signal immediately prior to an error about the nature of a facial emotion in adolescents and young adults with ASD, potentially consistent with prior work indicating that dlPFC may play a role in attention to and regulation of emotional experience.
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    Regulating Together: Emotion Dysregulation Group Treatment for ASD Youth and Their Caregivers.
    (Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2022-02-09) Shaffer, Rebecca C; Schmitt, Lauren M; Reisinger, Debra L; Coffman, Marika; Horn, Paul; Goodwin, Matthew S; Mazefsky, Carla; Randall, Shelley; Erickson, Craig
    Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience behavioral and emotional symptoms hypothesized to arise from emotion dysregulation (ED), difficulty modulating emotional experience, expression, and intensity in an acceptable and contextually appropriate manner. We developed Regulating Together (RT)-an intensive-outpatient, caregiver-assisted group program to meet the ASD + ED intervention critical need. A within-subjects trial was conducted (5-week-control lead-in period, 5-week-treatment, and 5-and 10-weeks-post-treatment follow-ups). Forty-four youth with ASD + ED (25 8-12, 19 13-18 yr-olds, 88% male, mean FSIQ of 96) participated. Improvements were found in reactivity, emotion regulation knowledge, and flexibility post-treatment and 10-weeks post-treatment. A reduction in inpatient hospitalization rates by 16% from the 12 months pre-RT to 12 months post-RT was observed. RT shows promise to reduce ED in ASD.