Systematic review of interventions in prosociality and empathy in people with ASD

Abstract

The DSM-5 frames the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within the neurodevelopmental disorders, whose most characteristic features are the alterations of social behavior. These include affectations in prosociality and empathy. The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the different interventions aimed at improving prosociality and empathy in people with ASD and identifying determining factors for it. To this end, a systematic review of the articles found in the Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Dialnet databases has been carried out following the PRISMA guidelines. The results indicate that an increase in prosociality and empathy scores for people with ASD is possible through different intervention techniques, and it seems that the determining factors are the degree of receptive and expressive language, nonverbal communication skills, fluid reasoning, IQ and the frequency of implementation.