The Use of Social Stories to Reduce Negative Affect and Improve Satisfaction in Adults Attending an ASD Assessment
The Use of Social Stories to Reduce Negative Affect and Improve Satisfaction in Adults Attending an Assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
An invitation to participate in the study will be included with every appointment letter sent out by the host site(s) whilst recruitment is active. The invitation will invite participants to visit a website (hosted by Qualtrics) where they will be provided with information about the study and asked if they would like to provide informed consent to participate. If consent is given, they will be asked to complete an online version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; time 1). Contact information will also be requested at this point.
Participants will then be randomly allocated to either an experimental group or to a control group. Participants in the experimental group will read a Social Story about what to expect from their assessment; participants in the control group will read the standard information the host service sends out about what to expect from their assessment. Participants will be blinded to which group they are in.
If the participants choose to supply a mobile telephone number and email address, an SMS text message and/or email reminder will be sent out one week prior to their assessment and again on the morning of the assessment. These reminders will include hyperlinks to the information about what to expect and will remind them to complete the PANAS once they arrive at their appointment.
On arrival at their assessment (time 2), participants will complete a paper copy of the PANAS questionnaire and will be asked for demographic information. Participants will also be asked to rate the extent that the information they read prior to attending the assessment has helped them to know what to expect thus far. Paper copies of the questionnaire will be left in the waiting area with instructions to hand them into staff once complete.
One week following their assessment (time 3), participants will receive another SMS/email which will include a hyperlink to a post-assessment survey that will ask participants to rate their satisfaction with the assessment and whether they received a diagnosis of ASD. Participants who do not complete this questionnaire after one week will be contacted one final time. All participants will be sent a debriefing sheet.
Hypotheses
- Compared with participants who read standard, non-social information prior to attending an assessment for ASD, participants who read a Social Story will report, on average, less of an increase in negative affect when attending their assessment, as measured by the negative subscale of the PANAS.
- Participants who read a Social Story prior to attending an assessment for ASD will report, on average, higher satisfaction (measured via a 5 point Likert scale) with the assessment than participants who read standard, non-social information.
- Compared with participants who read standard, non-social information prior to attending an assessment for ASD, participants who read a Social Story will report, on average, that the assessment was more predictable (measured via a 5 point Likert scale).
Data Analysis
Comparison of means using a 2 (group; SS, control) X 2 (time; time 1, time 2) mixed ANOVA (repeated measures on the time factor). Dependent variable = PANAS score.
Comparison of means using an independent t-test at time 2. Independent variable = group (2 levels; SS and control). Dependent variable = PANAS score.
Descriptive statistics.
Comparison of means using the Mann-Whitney U test at time 3. Independent variable = group (2 levels; SS and control). Dependent variable = satisfaction score.
Descriptive statistics.
- Descriptive statistics.
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
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South Yorkshire
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Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, S11 9BF
- Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service
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Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- People who are awaiting an ASD assessment at the host site.
- People who have never visited the site before.
Exclusion Criteria:
- People who do not receive a diagnosis of ASD following the study will not be included in the inferential statistical analysis. However, they will still be participants in the study and their data will be reported descriptively.
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Single
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: Social Story
Participants will read information about what to expect from the assessment in the format of a Social Story
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A short story written in the third person about what it's like to attend an assessment for ASD.
|
|
Active Comparator: Standard Information
Participants will read standard information about what to expect from the assessment.
|
Information the host site currently sends out to patients informing them about what to expect from the assessment
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Time Frame: Change scores: baseline and 3 weeks
|
A widely used self-report measure of positive and negative affect with good psychometric properties (Crawford & Henry, 2004) and has been used in previous research to measure negative affect in people with ASD (Samson, Huber, & Gross, 2012).
|
Change scores: baseline and 3 weeks
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Assessment Satisfaction
Time Frame: 3 weeks
|
Participants will be asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the diagnostic assessment, on a 5 point Likert scale.
|
3 weeks
|
|
Predictability
Time Frame: 3 weeks
|
Participants will be asked to rate, on a 5 point Likert scale, to what extent the information they read prior to their assessment has thus far helped them to know what to expect from the assessment.
|
3 weeks
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Richard p Jenkinson, University of Sheffield
Publications and helpful links
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- rjenkinson001
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
IPD Plan Description
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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