Real-World Executive Functions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Profiles of Impairment and Associations with Adaptive Functioning and Co-morbid Anxiety and Depression

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 1071 - 1083
• Main Authors: Wallace, Gregory L., Kenworthy, Lauren, Pugliese, Cara E., Popal, Haroon S., White, Emily I., Brodsky, Emily, Martin, Alex
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological - physiology; Adaptive behavior; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adults; Anxiety; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety-Depression; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - diagnosis; Autism Spectrum Disorder - epidemiology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic adolescents; Autistic children; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Care and treatment; Child and School Psychology; Children; Comorbidity; Complications and side effects; Correlation; Depression; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression (Psychology); Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Disability; Executive Function; Executive Function - physiology; Female; Flexibility; Humans; Intellectual disabilities; Learning disabilities; Learning disabled people; Male; Mental depression; Metacognition; Moderated; Neuropsychological Tests; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Predictor Variables; Profiles; Psychology; Public Health; Risk factors; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Young Adult; United States > US; Autism; Adaptive functioning; Adult; Depression; Executive function; Anxiety
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2655-7

Although executive functioning (EF) difficulties are well documented among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about real-world measures of EF among adults with ASD. Therefore, this study examined parent-reported real-world EF problems among 35 adults with ASD without intellectual disability and their correlations with adaptive functioning and co-morbid anxiety and depression symptomatology. A variable EF profile was found with prominent deficits occurring in flexibility and metacognition. Flexibility problems were associated with anxiety-related symptoms while metacognition difficulties were associated with depression symptoms and impaired adaptive functioning (though the metacognition-adaptive functioning relationship was moderated by ADHD symptoms). These persistent EF problems are predictors of broader functioning and therefore remain an important treatment target among adults with ASD.