Brief Report: Initial Evidence of Depressive Symptom Disparities among Black and White Transition Age Autistic Youth.
Ed-Dee G Williams, Matthew J Smith, Kari Sherwood and 2 others
PMID 34417653WHAT IT FOUND
Black autistic transition-age youth reported higher depressive symptoms than White autistic peers, but rates of clinical depression did not differ.
The sample was small, so these findings suggest a need for further research rather than a confirmed disparity.
Key findings
01Black participants had significantly higher depressive symptoms than White participants after adjusting for covariates.
02The groups did not differ with respect to clinical levels of depression.
03Participants with a co-occurring disability had lower depressive symptoms than those without, independent of race.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (39 participants total) and not powered to detect small or medium effects. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if race causes the difference in symptoms. The findings are limited to mildly to moderately autistic youth and may not apply to those with severe autism. The measure used for depressive symptoms has not been validated for transition-age youth beyond 18 years. There was no control group of non-autistic youth to compare depression rates.
Declared interests
The University of Michigan will receive royalties from SIMmersion LLC on the sales of the virtual interview training tool that was the focus of the parent randomized controlled trial. These royalties will be shared with Dr. Matthew Smith and the University of Michigan School of Social Work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Black autistic youth have higher rates of clinical depression than White autistic youth. While they reported more depressive symptoms, the difference in clinical depression was not significant.