Emotional regulation deficits in autism spectrum disorder: The role of alexithymia and interoception

The aim of this study was to analyze emotional regulation, alexithymia and interoception in a group of people diagnosed with ASD (n = 27), a normative population with a technical academic training (n = 30), and another group with a humanities/health training (n = 20). Results showed significantly higher scores in alexithymia and emotional regulation problems, and lower scores in interoception in the ASD group. Also, alexithymia was found to correlate with emotional regulation, which was found to be significant in all three groups. In addition, interoception correlated negatively with alexithymia in the ASD group. Finally, the scores of the group with the technical training were closer to those of the ASD group compared to the humanities/health group. •Alexithymia and interoception participate significantly in the emotional regulation of individuals with ASD.•ASD group showed higher scores in alexithymia and emotional regulation problems.•Interoception correlated negatively with alexithymia in the ASD group.•Technical formation group were closer than non-Technical formation group to those of the ASD group.