App-based meditation habits maintain reductions in depression symptoms among autistic adults.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice June 1, 2024 Chad Stecher, Broc A Pagni, Sara Cloonan et al. 11 citations
Autistic adults face elevated depression risk, which harms daily functioning and life outcomes. App-based meditation helps neurotypical adults manage depression, but long-term evidence for autistic adults was lacking. Anchoring, a habit-formation strategy, had not been tested in this group. This work shows that combining anchoring with app-based meditation is feasible and effective for establishing meditation habits in autistic adults. These habits maintained reduced depressive symptoms over six months. The findings indicate anchoring-based habit formation is a promising technique for building healthy habits in autistic adults, and app-based meditation offers a durable self-care option for managing depression in this population.