Clinical trial NCT06925308: Course of Face-to-face Interactions in Adults With Autism
Official title: Course of Face-to-face Interactions in Adults With Autism: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Experimental Design
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Neurotypical
Keywords: Eye contact
Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASD
Experiment
Neurotypical
Interaction
Physiology
Reflection
Lead sponsor: UMC Utrecht
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Dimence Groep
First posted: 2025-04-13
Enrollment: 54
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This research explores how adults with autism make eye contact during formal and informal interactions; to what extent the nature of a conversation influences how eye contact is made in terms of length, frequency and overall presentation. Also what physiological responses to eye contact are, in order to determine to what extent eye contact leads to an increased, decreased or unchanged stress level. In addition, to gain insight into the similarities and differences in how people with ASD respond to eye contact of others compared to their own eye contact.

Detailed description: This research explores how adults with autism make eye contact during formal and informal interactions; to what extent the nature of a conversation influences how eye contact is made in terms of length, frequency and overall presentation. Also what physiological responses to eye contact are, in order to determine to what extent eye contact leads to an increased, decreased or unchanged stress level. In addition, to gain insight into the similarities and differences in how people with ASD respond to eye contact of others compared to their own eye contact.

The research design chosen is an exploratory mixed methods study, which was developed in co-design with an expert by experience. The design consists of two parts. In the first part, the researcher will have a conversation (with a formal and informal phase, in which the subject will be given the idea that only the formal part is part of the research) with an adult with ASD, during which hidden recordings of the subject's eye behavior will be made, and in addition, skin conductance and duration/frequency of the subject's eye contact will be recorded, without the subject knowing that this is intended for research into eye contact. In the second part, the researcher and subject watch the hidden recording of the subject's eye behavior, during which the subject's skin conductance will be recorded and special features of the subject, as seen by the researcher. Both the arrangement of the subjects and researcher, as well as the physiological measurements, will be tested in advance.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria

* Neurotypical adults and adults with an ASD, determined according to an internationally recognized classification system.
* Able to understand the instructions.
* Motivation to participate in research.

Exclusion criteria

* No good command of the Dutch language.
* Use of alcohol and/or recreational drugs during the research.
* Mentally too unstable to participate in the research.
* Familiarity with treatment in the VGZ.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Frequency of eye contact in adults with autism, measured with video, audio and push button.
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Duration of eye contact in adults with autism, measured with video, audio and push button.
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Arousal during eye contact in adults with autism, measured with skin conductance
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Arousal during reflection on ones own eye contact in adults with autism, measured with skin conductance
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Reflection on ones own eye contact in adults with autism, measured with video and audio
timeFrame: Baseline
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Deventer
country: Netherlands
facility: Dimence Groep
state: Overijssel
Study officials:
affiliation: UMC Utrecht
name: Nynke Boonstra, Professor
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References: