Use of Metaphors in Psychoeducation for Depression and Its Relationship With Autistic Traits

The impact of metaphors employed in psychoeducation for depression on people with a tendency for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was investigated. Japanese undergraduate students (N = 146, 41 males and 105 females, mean age = 19.45 ± 2.05) were randomly assigned to a metaphor, or a control group. They rated their perceived impressions of a psychoeducation experience using a questionnaire and also completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient instrument (AQ). Exploratory factor analysis of questionnaire responses identified three factors: Subscale 1: “Depth of understanding” (8 items), Subscale 2: “Positive feelings toward the contents” (6 items) and Subscale 3: “New perspective” (2 items). In order to examine how AQ level and metaphor presence affected impressions of psychoeducation, we conducted two-factor ANOVA with AQ (High/Low) and metaphor (With/Without) as independent variables. Results of multiple comparisons conducted on subscale scores indicated that the simple main effect of metaphor presencefor “Positive feelings toward the contents” remained significant in the high-AQ group. This suggests that when metaphors are used in psychoeducation for people with high autistic tendencies, they are more likely to have positive impressions about depression including the feeling of familiarity with depression, and feeling hopeful about psychoeducation. It was concluded that metaphors in psychoeducation might help people with autistic tendencies to build a positive perception of the depression at the state of treatment.