The Self-Construal Scale: A Potential Tool for Predicting Subjective Well-Being of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The Self-Construal Scale forecasts life satisfaction in high-functioning autistic adults and can guide which self-image goals to target.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kaneko et al. (2020) gave the Self-Construal Scale to adults with autism and to neurotypical adults.
They wanted to see if the scale could predict how happy and satisfied the autistic adults felt.
They also checked if early childhood autism signs were tied to adult self-views.
What they found
The autistic adults scored higher on “independent self-construal” than the neurotypical group.
These self-views predicted their later well-being: more independence linked to higher life satisfaction.
Early autism symptoms still showed a small connection to adult self-views.
How this fits with other research
Davis et al. (2009) warned that the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale works poorly in adults with intellectual disability. Sachie’s team shows the Self-Construal Scale can work well in high-functioning autism, so you may want to switch tools when self-concept matters.
Mumbardó-Helles et al. (2017) meta-analysis found that gender, race, and exact labels shift self-determination scores. Sachie’s positive findings still hold, but you should weigh those same context variables before you interpret any self-construal score.
Muniandy et al. (2022) found that autistic adults with low-resilience coping feel more stress. Pairing their coping profile idea with Sachie’s scale gives you two quick screens: one for resilience style and one for self-view, together pointing to who needs extra support.
Why it matters
You now have a brief, valid scale that predicts well-being in high-functioning adults with autism. Use it during intake to flag clients who see themselves as highly independent yet report low happiness; they may benefit from self-advocacy or social-connection goals. Combine the score with context factors noted by Cristina et al. to avoid misreading culture or gender effects.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Despite accumulating evidence that culture shapes the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies have yet applied the Self-Construal Scale to individuals with ASD. We compared the self-construals (measured using the Self-Construal Scale) of 31 high-functioning Japanese individuals with ASD with those of 60 typically developing (TD) individuals. We also examined how the self-construals of individuals with ASD related to their intelligence quotient, adverse childhood experiences, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ASD symptoms during adulthood and preschool years, and subjective well-being. Individuals with ASD were more likely to display independent self-construals than were TD individuals; unexpectedly, however, a substantial proportion of individuals with ASD (43.8%) displayed relatively interdependent self-construals. Among individuals with ASD, self-construals were significantly associated with ASD symptoms during preschool years, and with satisfaction of the need for autonomy and frustration of the need for relatedness. Evaluating self-construals can help predict the subjective well-being of high-functioning individuals with ASD. Moreover, the Self-Construal Scale may be useful for understanding the heterogeneous phenotypes of ASD, based on its association with autistic symptoms during preschool years, suggesting that the scale is a potential tool to develop efficient interventions for high-functioning individuals with ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 947-958. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of disorders presenting a variety of symptoms and biological origins that can complicate choosing an intervention best suited for improving well-being. Results indicate that a self-construal scale could help understand individuals with high-functioning ASD by independent and interdependent self-construals that are associated with ASD symptoms during preschool years and adult subjective well-being. Our findings suggest that this scale can help understand ASD and select appropriate interventions.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2020 · doi:10.1002/aur.2242