Exploring the role of empathy in understanding the social-cognitive profile for individuals referred for autism spectrum disorders assessment in adulthood
Exploring the role of empathy in understanding the social-cognitive profile for individuals referred for autism spectrum disorders assessment in adulthood
This study explored the social-cognitive profile of 173 adults referred for an autism assessment. We considered key dimensional traits (autism, empathy and systemising) to understand social cognition in adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition compared with those who were referred for, but did not receive a diagnosis. There were no significant social cognitive differences between groups on measures of emotion recognition and social inference. Adults with a confirmed diagnosis, however, reported fewer empathising traits which were positively associated with social-cognitive understanding. Empathising partially mediated the relationship between diagnostic group and social-cognition. Lower empathising traits in individuals diagnosed in adulthood may be important in understanding challenges with social adaptability. The findings have implications for assessment and highlight the role of empathy in developing social understanding in autism.
Autism spectrum disorder, Adults, neuropsychology, social cognition, Diagnosis
Russ, Victoria
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Kovshoff, Hanna
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Brown, Tony
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Abbott, Patricia
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Hadwin, Julie
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Russ, Victoria
91304e34-944a-4a77-aa78-59a63db06450
Kovshoff, Hanna
82c321ee-d151-40c5-8dde-281af59f2142
Brown, Tony
92f95f06-d1c5-4853-a23f-3e8794d65b6b
Abbott, Patricia
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Hadwin, Julie
a364caf0-405a-42f3-a04c-4864817393ee
Russ, Victoria, Kovshoff, Hanna, Brown, Tony, Abbott, Patricia and Hadwin, Julie
(2018)
Exploring the role of empathy in understanding the social-cognitive profile for individuals referred for autism spectrum disorders assessment in adulthood.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
(doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3693-8).
Abstract
This study explored the social-cognitive profile of 173 adults referred for an autism assessment. We considered key dimensional traits (autism, empathy and systemising) to understand social cognition in adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition compared with those who were referred for, but did not receive a diagnosis. There were no significant social cognitive differences between groups on measures of emotion recognition and social inference. Adults with a confirmed diagnosis, however, reported fewer empathising traits which were positively associated with social-cognitive understanding. Empathising partially mediated the relationship between diagnostic group and social-cognition. Lower empathising traits in individuals diagnosed in adulthood may be important in understanding challenges with social adaptability. The findings have implications for assessment and highlight the role of empathy in developing social understanding in autism.
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Accepted/In Press date: 25 June 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 July 2018
Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorder, Adults, neuropsychology, social cognition, Diagnosis
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 424841
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/424841
ISSN: 0162-3257
PURE UUID: 94b446a9-ac6e-4e02-9d5b-cc8ba7eb88ac
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Date deposited: 05 Oct 2018 11:49
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:48
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Contributors
Author:
Victoria Russ
Author:
Tony Brown
Author:
Patricia Abbott
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