Brief Report: Improving Employment Interview Self-efficacy Among Adults with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities Using Virtual Interactive Training Agents (ViTA)

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 741 - 748
• Main Authors: Burke, Shanna L., Li, Tan, Grudzien, Adrienne, Garcia, Stephanie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - therapy; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic adults; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Brief Report; Career and Technical Education; Child and School Psychology; Computer applications; Computer Simulation; Demographic aspects; Developmental disabilities; Developmental Disabilities - psychology; Developmental Disabilities - therapy; Educational Technology; Educational Trends; Employment; Employment - psychology; Employment interviewing; Employment Interviews; Female; Humans; Influence of Technology; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Interaction; Interactive computer systems; Interpersonal Competence; Interviews; Job applicants; Male; Males; Neurosciences; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Program Effectiveness; Psychology; Public Health; Regression analysis; Schizophrenia; Self Efficacy; Social Behavior; Social Responsibility; Social Work; Statistical analysis; Technology application; Training Methods; Virtual Reality; Young Adult; Young Adults; United States; Autism spectrum disorders; Interviewing; Employment; Intellectual disabilities; Virtual interactive training agents; Self-efficacy
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04571-8

This study evaluated the measurable impact of the use of virtual interactive training agents (ViTA) as a way to practice interviewing and gain confidence in responding to questions asked during job interviews. Of the total participants (n = 153), the majority were male (72.55%) with an average age of 21.71 years old (SD = 3.14 years). Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs; 64.71%) and intellectual disability (40%) were the most frequently reported diagnoses. Using a within-subjects repeated measures design, the repeated measures linear regression analysis found that the average self-efficacy score increased by 0.31 ( p  = 0.002), and statistically significant increases were found in all three subscales. Further development of virtual reality interventions like ViTA, that improve outcomes for adults with ASDs and other developmental disabilities, is warranted.