Explicit and implicit self-esteem in youth with autism spectrum disorders.

The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that low self-esteem causes depressive or externalizing symptoms. The analysed samples were small, and several analyses were done, so chance findings and low power are likely. The age range was wide and the sample was relatively young, which may affect self-esteem results. The implicit association task was not validated in children and adolescents, and implicit self-esteem may vary by situation. The implicit task was done after explicit questionnaires, so order effects may have influenced the implicit result. Some statistical assumptions were not met, and the informant comparison used a parametric test despite this. Some ASD participants used medication, and the study could not separate medication effects from ASD effects. Participants had IQ above 80 and the ASD group had high social responsiveness scores, so results may not apply to lower IQ or milder symptoms. Parent and child reports differed, and the study cannot tell whether youth overestimated self-esteem or parents were overly negative. Depression measures overlapped with self-esteem, although the authors repeated the analysis after removing some overlapping items.

The supplied text does not name a specific funder or declare conflicts of interest. It states that the authors disclosed receipt of financial support and that the study was approved by the University of Amsterdam ethics board. The publication types list non-U.S. government research support.

Do not conclude that boosting self-esteem will reduce depressive or externalizing symptoms. The study measured associations at one time in a small ASD sample and did not test any treatment, so it cannot show that changing self-esteem changes symptoms.