Self-concept Clarity and Autobiographical Memory Functions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Deficiency.
Adults with autism without ID show a blurrier self-image and weaker social use of memories—prime targets for self-awareness drills.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Romain and team asked the adults with autism and 33 matched peers to fill out two short forms.
One form measured self-concept clarity—how clearly people see themselves.
The other asked how often they use past life stories for social goals, like making friends.
What they found
The autism group scored lower on both tools.
Their self-pictures were fuzzier and they rarely pulled up old stories to bond with others.
How this fits with other research
Seiverling et al. (2012) already showed adults with autism need more time to find specific memories.
Romain’s 2020 study extends that work by linking slower recall to a less clear sense of self.
Green et al. (2020) found young adults with autism also struggle with self-determination, hinting the self-issue lasts across age bands.
Why it matters
If your client can’t quickly name personal stories, social skills drills may stall.
Start sessions by helping them list three true life facts.
Clear self-examples give them something real to share in conversation practice.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The structural characteristics of self-concept refer to the way in which the elements of self-knowledge are organized and can be experienced by individuals in the form of self-concept clarity. It is intimately linked to autobiographical memory. Therefore, we sought to compare self-concept clarity and autobiographical memory between adults with ASD without Intellectual Deficiency and controls. We also explored the association between self-concept clarity and autistic traits, autobiographical memory functions and executive functions. Statistical analyses were performed using Bayesian methods. Our results showed both a lower clarity of self-concept and a lower social function of autobiographical memory in the ASDwID than in the control group. We also presented a link between clarity of self-concept and the self-function of autobiographical memory.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04447-x