Brief Report: Does Gender Matter in Intervention for ASD? Examining the Impact of the PEERS Social Skills Intervention on Social Behavior Among Females with ASD

Overview

Journal J Autism Dev Disord

Publisher Springer

Date 2017 Apr 10

PMID 28391452

Citations 15

Authors

Alana J McVey

Hillary Schiltz

Angela Haendel

Bridget K Dolan

Kirsten S Willar

Sheryl Pleiss

Jeffrey S Karst

Audrey M Carson

Christina Caiozzo

Elisabeth Vogt

Amy Vaughan Van Hecke

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A paucity of research has been conducted to examine the effect of social skills intervention on females with ASD. Females with ASD may have more difficulty developing meaningful friendships than males, as the social climate can be more complex (Archer, Coyne, Personality and Social Psychology Review 9(3):212-230, 2005). This study examined whether treatment response among females differed from males. One hundred and seventy-seven adolescents and young adults with ASD (N = 177) participated in this study. When analyzed by group, no significant differences by gender emerged: PEERS knowledge (TASSK/TYASSK, p = .494), direct interactions (QSQ, p = .762), or social responsiveness (SRS, p = .689; SSIS-RS, p = .482). Thus, females and males with ASD respond similarly to the PEERS intervention.

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