Research on daily living activities and employment levels of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Taiwan is limited. The aims of the study were to investigate outcomes related to functional independence and employment among people with ASD in Taiwan. We investigated the daily living activities and the employment status of 81 adults (age range, 18-48 years; mean age, 22.8 years) with ASD in southern Taiwan. Most (85.2%) participants with ASD were men, and all lived with their caregivers or guardians. Primary caregivers or guardians completed a self-administered, written questionnaire. More than three-quarters (80.2%) of the participants with ASD could independently take care of themselves. Instrumental activities of daily living they most frequently engaged in included walking outside for more than 15 min (88.9%), light housework (85.2%), and local shopping (80.2%). Only 11 (13.6%) of the participants with ASD were employed [five (6.2%) worked more than 20 h/week] and four (4.9%) were attending school. Types of occupation consisted of serving food and beverages, baking, and cleaning. Most (81.5%) of the participants with ASD were unemployed, stayed at home, and were cared for by family members. The results of this study provide information to support the design of adequate interventions to meet the needs of adults with ASD, particularly those in Taiwan. It is important to develop adequate interventions to facilitate the functional independence of this population. Future research using larger study populations with a comparison group is needed.

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of reproductive concerns in breast cancer patients of Chinese women of childbearing age, to explore the effects of self-disclosure and mental resilience on reproductive concerns, and to explore the relationships among the three variables. MethodsCorrelation research design was used.274 women suffering from breast cancer with age (M=38.10, SD=6.44) were taken from two tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou. The participants were asked to fill out a set of self-reported questionnaires including the Sociodemographic data, Reproductive Concerns after Cancer scale (RCACs), the Distress Disclosure Index (DDI), and the 14-Item Resilience scale (RS-14). The mediation analysis was tested using SPSS (Process-plugin) and the bootstrap method. ResultsA total of 252 valid questionnaires were collected in this study. 36.1% of the patients scored highly in at least one dimension of reproductive concerns, with Child's health and Personal health being the top two concerns. Correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between self-disclosure and mental resilience. Self-disclosure and mental resilience had a negative relationship with reproductive concerns, respectively. The results of the mediation analysis showed that there was a mediational role of mental resilience between self-disclosure and reproductive concerns. ConclusionIt was concluded that breast cancer patients with high levels of self-disclosure, are more resilient and have fewer reproductive concerns.