A cross-cultural exploration of the everyday social participation of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in Australia and Taiwan: An experience sampling study.
Culture, gender, and anxiety each change how often cognitively able adults with autism join real-world social moments.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chen et al. (2017) used cell-phone pings to ask adults with autism what they were doing. The team compared answers from Australia and Taiwan. Everyone had average or above IQ and could text back.
Each adult got random pings for one week. They typed where they were, who was there, and how anxious they felt. The goal was to map real-life social participation across two cultures.
What they found
Taiwanese adults stayed home more often than Australian peers. Females in both countries joined more social moments than males. Higher social anxiety meant fewer real-time chats, meals, or hang-outs.
The data came from lived hours, not memory. Culture, gender, and anxiety all shaped who was out with friends and who stayed in.
How this fits with other research
Hare et al. (2016) ran a smaller pilot using the same ping method. Their work showed adults with autism can answer mood questions on a phone. Chen et al. (2017) built on that proof to compare two countries.
Ambrose et al. (2022) asked parents of autistic kids about anxiety and activities. They also found anxiety cuts participation. The new study shows the same link holds when adults speak for themselves in real time.
Adams et al. (2020) let children self-report anxiety. Both papers agree: ask the person, not just the parent, to see true anxiety levels.
Why it matters
If you write social goals, check culture and gender. A Taiwanese client may need extra support to leave home. A female client may already join events yet still feel anxious. Add anxiety treatment to social-skills plans. Use quick phone check-ins to see if your plan works outside the clinic.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder commonly have limited social participation. This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences of everyday participation among males and females with autism spectrum disorder in Australia and Taiwan, using an experience sampling methodology. A total of 14 Australians (4 males, aged 16-43 years) and 16 Taiwanese (12 males, aged 19-45 years) with autism spectrum disorder who are cognitively able were asked to carry a device which prompted them seven times per day for 7 days, to record everyday participation: where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with. Multilevel analyses were used to identify the relationships between everyday participation and associated factors including gender, country of residence, clinical severity of autism spectrum disorder, and social anxiety. The results showed that Taiwanese participants were more likely to stay at home than Australian participants. However, female participants were more likely to engage in social situations than males. Furthermore, participants with fewer autism spectrum disorder symptoms and those with higher levels of social anxiety were less likely to engage in social interactions. This study sheds light on ways that culture and gender affect social participation and highlights the relationship of social anxiety to social participation. The findings have implications for interventions for social participation.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2017 · doi:10.1177/1362361316636756