Quantifying the Optimal Structure of the Autism Phenotype: A Comprehensive Comparison of Dimensional, Categorical, and Hybrid Models

Kim, Hyun-Sik; Keifer, Cara M.; Rodriguez‐Seijas, Craig; Eaton, Nicholas R.; Lerner, Matthew D.; Gadow, Kenneth D.

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.09.431

Cited by 41 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…These results support the argument of Happé et al (2006) that the different dimensions of autistic traits should be studied separately (due to potentially independent causal factors) rather than combined into a single unitary factor. Our results also agree with findings by Kim et al (2018) that the ASD phenotype is most optimally characterized by three separate domains rather than as a single categorical syndrome. Had the BAPQ subscales not been analyzed individually in the present study, the dominance of aloofness over rigidity or pragmatic language problems in relation to mental well-being may not have been identified.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The Association Between Autistic Traits and Mental Well-Being

Stimpson¹,

Hull²,

Mandy³

2020

J Happiness Stud

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It is now accepted that sub-clinical autistic traits are continuously distributed in the general population. It appears that there has been no prior research on the relationship between autistic traits and mental well-being. We explored the nature of such a relationship using multiple regression models. 227 non-clinical adults aged 18-50 years completed an online self-report questionnaire with measures including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). Of the BAPQ subscales, aloofness (social anhedonia) but not rigidity or pragmatic language problems was associated with decreased mental well-being when controlling for extraversion, neuroticism, depression, and self-reported physical health. This association was partially mediated by crisis support (the number of people a respondent felt they could turn to for help in the event of a serious personal crisis). The results suggest that aloofness is a significant negative predictor of mental well-being, and that autistic traits might not be best represented as a single unitary factor in the context of outcomes related to mental well-being. Implications pertaining to the importance of social support and the possible contributing role of low self-perceived social competence to aloofness are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The Association Between Autistic Traits and Mental Well-Being

Stimpson¹,

Hull²,

Mandy³

2020

J Happiness Stud

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“…Although exploring the specific phenotypic heterogeneity present in the social–emotional skill profiles of individuals with ASD (Kim et al, ) is outside the scope of this initial pilot study, informal analyses did reveal several distinct patterns of ability without demonstrating the sort of floor effects, or range restriction, often seen in other measures that are also usable in non‐ASD populations. For example, some domain scores within individuals varied by more than two SDs from each other—with strengths in certain domains and challenges in others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Web‐based Assessment of Social–Emotional Skills in School‐Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2019

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Few tools are available to comprehensively describe the unique social-emotional skill profiles of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study describes the usability, reliability, and validity of SELweb, a normed, web-based assessment designed to measure four core social-emotional domains, when used to measure these skills in a sample of 57 well-characterized youth with ASD (ages 6-10 years with IQ ≥ 80). SELweb measures facial emotion recognition, theory of mind, social problem solving, and self-control. SELweb was well tolerated and yielded scores with reliabilities comparable to those found in normative samples. SELweb scores showed good evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for three of the four skills it was designed to assess. Mean deficits were found for theory of mind, social problem solving, and self-control, whereas no mean deficits were found for emotion recognition. Individual profiles varied considerably, suggesting the sensitivity of SELweb to the within-and between-person individual differences among youth with ASD. Findings support the usefulness and accessibility of SELweb as a tool for measuring complex socialemotional skill profiles in youth with ASD.Lay Summary: No single, simple, high-quality test exists that measures multiple social thinking skills directly in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study suggests that SELweb, a web-based assessment system, is an effective and valid way to measure how children with ASD think about and understand social and emotional information, and is able to capture strengths and weaknesses experienced by children with ASD.

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“…Given these findings, and those of increased loneliness in autism, one potential explanation for the individual differences in anthropomorphism observed across the wider population, may be autistic traits. Autism may present one extreme of a continuous distribution (or multiple distributions) of differences in social and cognitive styles or traits (see Kamp-Becker et al, 2010;Kim et al, 2019 for a discussion of the debate regarding categorical and dimensional approaches to autism). The 'broader autism phenotype' account suggests that these traits may extend to non-autistic relatives and the broader 'neurotypical' population (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, & Clubley, 2001;Landry & Chouinard, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic traits and loneliness in autism are associated with increased tendencies to anthropomorphise

Caruana

White

Remington³

2021

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

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Anthropomorphism – the attribution of human qualities to non-human objects – is believed to be a natural tendency which may serve several adaptive functions. One possibility is that anthropomorphism provides an egocentric heuristic by which we can understand the world. It may also be a strategy for reducing our subjective sense of loneliness. However not all humans exhibit the same propensity to anthropomorphise. Recent findings suggest that autistic individuals may be more likely to anthropomorphise than non-autistic individuals. In Study 1 we conducted a large-scale survey of autistic traits and dispositional anthropomorphism in the general population (n = 870). We found that individuals who reported having more autistic traits, had an increased dispositional tendency to anthropomorphise non-human entities. In Study 2 we more closely examined variation in anthropomorphism tendencies in a sample of autistic adults (n = 90) to better understand what might drive increased anthropomorphism in this population. We found that those with greater anthropomorphism tendencies experienced greater levels of self-reported loneliness. We propose that increased anthropomorphism might reflect reduced opportunities for social connection for autistic people and those with more autistic traits.

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Quantifying the Optimal Structure of the Autism Phenotype: A Comprehensive Comparison of Dimensional, Categorical, and Hybrid Models

Cited by 41 publications

References 38 publications

The Association Between Autistic Traits and Mental Well-Being

The Association Between Autistic Traits and Mental Well-Being

Web‐based Assessment of Social–Emotional Skills in School‐Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autistic traits and loneliness in autism are associated with increased tendencies to anthropomorphise

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