Associations of IQ and Autistic Symptomatology with Functioning in Young Adults with ASD: Self- and Parent Report Steven K. Kapp, Alexander Gantman, and Elizabeth A. Laugeson University of California, Los Angeles PROCEDURES DISCUSSION REFERENCES Data was draw from the baseline data of young adults with ASD participating in PEERS for Young Adults, an evidence-based social skills program for high- functioning adults with ASD. STUDY 1: Pearson’s correlations were performed between young adults‘ IQ scores on the KBIT-2 and the following measures: Self-reported core deficits of ASD, including ASD symptoms (AQ), empathy (EQ), friendship quality (FQ), and social skills (SSI and SSRS) Self-reported psychopathology, including dating anxiety (DAS), emotion dysregulation (DERS), loneliness (SELSA), and social anxiety (SAS) Parent-reported deficits related to ASD, including adaptive behavior (VABS-2), ASD symptoms (AQ and SRS) empathy (EQ), social skills (SSRS-P), and systemizing (SQ) Parent-reported psychopathology, including social anxiety (SAS) and problem behaviors (SSRS-PB) STUDY 2: Pearson’s correlations were separately performed between self- and parent- reported ASD symptoms (AQ) and measures of psychopathology RESEARCH AIM The purpose of this study was to test the associations between IQ and ASD symptoms with measures of social and psychosocial functioning in young adults with ASD. RESULTS Results from Study 1 revealed that young adults with ASD with higher verbal IQ reported better emotion regulation abilities but lower friendship quality and social skills, which might suggest higher self-awareness (Bishop & Seltzer, in press). Results from Study 2 suggest young adults with higher ASD symptomatology had higher self- and parent-reported anxiety and problem behaviors, in contrast to previous studies. This study extends previous evidence that neither verbal nor nonverbal IQ consistently predict outcomes in adults with ASD without intellectual disabilities (Howlin, Goode, Hutton, & Rutter, 2004). The young adults‘ IQ scores did not significantly relate to parent report on any measures, possibly suggesting stigmatizing effects of pedantic knowledge about perseverative interests or – paradoxically – of appearing odd rather than disabled (Hinshaw & Stier, 2008). The current study was limited due to lack of independent raters to assess ASD and contextualize reports and lack of validated and normed psychosocial measures for young adults with ASD. The large number of analyses may also have produced false positives, while the low power from the small sample may have produced false negatives. Table 1. Associations of verbal IQ with ASD deficits and psychopathology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PARTICIPANTS 36 young adult participants diagnosed with an ASD years of age (M = 20) 25 male; 11 female 24 Caucasian; 8 Asian American; 4 Hispanic Diagnosis corroborated with SRS (M = 95.75, SD = 25.75) Low adaptive behaviors on the VABS-2 (M = 69.06, SD = 10.4) Full-scale IQ on the KBIT-2 (M = , SD = 16.04, range ) 36 parent participants (31 mothers; 5 fathers) 34 participants lived with their parents INTRODUCTION Self- and parent reports of psychosocial functioning have shown a relationship between higher IQ and lower ASD symptomatology with lower self-reported self-concept and higher distress within the ASD population (Capps, Sigman, & Yirmiya, 1995; Mazurek & Kanne, 2010; Sterling et al., 2008; Vickerstaff et al., 2007). This trend contrasts with positive overlap between ASD and intellectual disability (Dickerson Mayes & Calhoun, 2011; Ronald & Hoekstra, 2011) and social anxiety (Tyson & Cruess, in press; White, Bray, & Ollendick, in press). Study 1: Verbal IQ on the KBIT-2 inversely related to self-reports of (see Table 1): ASD deficits: Friendship quality on the FQ and social skills on the SSI Psychopathology: Emotion dysregulation on the DERS Study 2: Self- and parent-reported reported ASD symptoms on the AQ positively correlated with psychopathology in the following areas (see Table 2): Self-reported dating anxiety on the DAS Self- and parent-reported social anxiety on the SAS Parent report of group social anxiety with mixed-sex peers on the DAS Self-reported general social anxiety on the SAS Parent-reported social anxiety on the SAS-P Problem behaviors on the SSRS Insignificant results and subscale correlations of measures in which the total score correlated are not reported here. Table 2. Associations of ASD symptoms (AQ) with psychopathology Verbal IQAssociated constructMeasureRaterr IQ-Verbal on KBIT-2 Emotion dysregulationDERSYoung adult-.407* Friendship qualityFQYoung adult.-.457** Social skillsSSIYoung adult-.405* ASD symptomsAssociated constructMeasureRaterr Self-reportDating anxietyDASYoung adult.560*** Social anxietySASYoung adult.477** Social anxietySASParent.545*** Parent reportGroup social anxietyDASYoung adult.547*** General social anxietySASYoung adult.420* Problem BehaviorsSSRSParent.413* Bishop, S.L., & Seltzer, M.M. (In press). Self-reported autism symptoms in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Capps, L., Sigman, M., & Yirmiya, N. (1995). Self-competence and emotional understanding in high-functioning children in autism. Development and Psychopathology, 7, Dickerson Mayes, S., & Calhoun, S.L. (2011). Impact of IQ, age, SES, gender, and race on autistic symptoms. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, Hoekstra RA, Happé, F., Baron-Cohen S., & Ronald, A. (2010). Limited genetic covariance between autistic traits and intelligence: Findings from a longitudinal twin study. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B 153B, 994–1007. Howlin, P., Goode, S., Hutton, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Adult outcome for children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 212–229. Mazurek, M.O., & Kanne, S.M. (2010). Friendship and internalizing symptoms among children and adolescents with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, Sterling, L., Dawson, G., Estes, A. & Greenson, J. (2008). Characteristics associated with presence of depressive symptoms in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 38, Tyson, K.E., & Cruess, D.G. (In press). Differentiating high-functioning autism and social phobia. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. White, S.W., Bray, B.C., & Ollendick, T.H. (2012). Examining shared and unique aspects of social anxiety disorder and autism spectrum disorder using factor analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, p<.05*, p<.01**, p<.001*** CONTACT INFORMATION The authors would like to thank Kaely Orenski, M.A. for assistance with scoring measures. We would also like to thank the families for their participation in this study. The first author gratefully acknowledge the support of INSAR for a U.S. Diversity Travel Award toward IMFAR For additional information about this study, please contact Steven Kapp at For further information about PEERS, please visit our website at: MEASURES YOUNG ADULT MEASURES Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test – Second Edition (KBIT-2; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2005) Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) Empathy Quotient (EQ; Baron Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004) Friendship Questionnaire (Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2003) Social Skills Rating System - Adolescent (SSRS-A; Gresham & Elliot, 1990) Social Anxiety Scale (La Greca & Lopez, 1998) Social Skills Inventory (SSI; Riggio, 1986) Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA; DiTasso & Spinner, 1993) Dating Anxiety Scale (DAS; Glickman & La Greca, 2004) Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) PARENT MEASURES Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale – Second Edition (VABS-2; Sparrow et al., 2005) Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) Empathy Quotient (EQ; Baron Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004) Systemizing Quotient (Baron-Cohen, Richler, Bisarya, Gurunathan, & Wheelwright, 2003) Social Responsiveness Scale (Constantino, 2005) Social Skills Rating System – Parent Form (SSRS-P; Gresham & Elliot, 1990) Social Anxiety Scale (La Greca & Lopez, 1998)