Asperger syndrome in adolescent and young adult males. Interview, self- and parent assessment of social, emotional, and cognitive problems.
Always collect both self and parent reports—BDI and DEX catch depression and executive problems that teens with Asperger’s often hide.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers interviewed 30 males with Asperger syndrome, . They gave each teen and his parents three short forms: the Autism Spectrum Disorder Interview (ASDI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). They also gave the Leiter-R non-verbal IQ test to check cognitive level.
The team wanted to see if the young men and their parents agreed on autism traits, mood, and executive skills. They compared every score pair to find gaps.
What they found
Parents rated autism traits much higher than the young men rated themselves. Depression scores told the same story: parents saw more sadness. Yet both sides gave similar Leiter-R IQ scores, so the gap was not about understanding the questions.
On the DEX, every participant landed in the severe executive-problems range. The BDI caught six teens with clinical depression that parents had spotted.
How this fits with other research
Nah et al. (2018) later screened 120 autistic adults with the 2-minute DASS-21 and found 39-46 % scored in the moderate-to-extremely-severe anxiety or depression range. Their larger, mixed-sex sample backs up Mats et al.’s call to add a quick mood screener to your intake packet.
Matson et al. (2011) saw an apparent contradiction: in a national parent survey, 40 % of school-age children with ASD were said to have depression or anxiety. The gap is age and informant: younger kids plus parent-only report inflated numbers, while Mats et al. show teens under-report when asked directly.
Spriggs et al. (2016) extended the executive piece. Older autistic adults still complain of daily planning problems on the same DEX, yet their objective test scores look almost normal. The severe DEX scores Mats et al. found in young males may soften with age, but subjective struggle remains.
Why it matters
Never trust a single reporter. Add both self- and parent-rating forms to your assessment battery. Start with the BDI for mood and the DEX for executive trouble; they take five minutes total and flag issues you can target in the next treatment plan. If scores clash, interview both sides to find real-life examples before you write goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Descriptive and comparative follow-up studies of young adult males with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosed in childhood, using both interview, self- and parent assessment instruments for the study of aspects of emotional well-being, social functioning, and cognitive-practical skills have not been performed in the past. One-hundred males with AS diagnosed in childhood were approached for the assessment using the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Interview (ASDI), (personal and parent interview), the Leiter-R-Questionnaires, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX). About 75% of the targeted group participated. The ASDI results came out significantly different at personal vs parent interviews in several key domains. In contrast, the Leiter-R-Questionnaires, showed no significant differences across the individuals with AS and their parents in the scoring of cognitive/social and emotional/adaptive skills. The BDI proved to be an adequate screening instrument for depression in that it correctly identified the vast majority of cases with clinical depression in the AS group. The DEX results suggested an executive function deficit problem profile in males with AS as severe as that reported in groups of individuals with traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia. Interviews (personal and collateral), and self-rating and parent-rating questionnaires all have a role in the comprehensive diagnostic process in AS and other autism spectrum disorders, and could be used as adjuncts when evaluating whether or not individuals meeting diagnostic symptom criteria for the condition have sufficient problems in daily life to warrant a clinical diagnosis of AS.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.09.006