Self-regulation and quality of life in high-functioning young adults with autism.
Renee R Dijkhuis, Tim B Ziermans, Sophie Van Rijn and 2 others
PMID 27407040WHAT IT FOUND
Young adults with high-functioning autism in higher education reported lower quality of life than peers.
More daily executive-function problems, especially flexibility and self-monitoring, related to lower quality of life. This is association, not proof treatment works.
Key findings
01Young adults with high-functioning autism reported lower total subjective quality of life than controls (mean 68.81 vs 81.18, where higher scores mean better quality of life).
02Young adults with high-functioning autism reported more executive-function problems (mean 128.51 vs 105.64, where higher scores mean more impairment), and in the autism group more executive-function problems were associated with lower subjective quality of life, with the model explaining 22.1% of variance.
03Young adults with high-functioning autism reported more difficulty identifying and verbalizing emotions than controls, but this did not significantly predict subjective quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
All measures were self-reports by the same participants, so shared reporting style may inflate associations. The sample was limited to Dutch students in higher education, many living in an autism support programme, so results may not apply to autistic adults with lower education, different living situations, or outside this setting. IQ and verbal ability were not directly measured, although higher-education admission was used as a proxy. The study did not test any treatment, so it cannot show that executive-function problems caused lower quality of life or that improving them would help. Analyses included 75 participants with high-functioning autism and 28 controls, a modest sample. Only executive function and emotion processing were tested as predictors, so other factors such as comorbidities or academic success were not examined. One author was employed by the recruitment programme, and the programme funded the study.
Declared interests
One author was employed as a personal supervisor at Stumass, and the study was funded by the Stumass Scientific Board Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that training executive function will improve quality of life. This study measured self-reported associations in students in higher education, not the effect of treatment.