Self-Reported Stress and Questionnaires in People With Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review

Background To gain more insight into the experience of stress in individuals with ASD, it is important to use appropriate self-report questionnaires. The goal of this systematic review was to provide an overview of these. Method The PRISMA guidelines were followed and four online databases were systematically searched. Results Seven questionnaires have been used previously in individuals with ASD. None of the 22 included studies intended to assess the psychometric properties, leading towards scarce evidence concerning their reliability and validity in this population. Conclusions It is important to consider which concept of stress one aims to measure as not all questionnaires cover the same aspects of stress. Further research concerning psychometric properties of the questionnaires in this population is required.