Correlates of social functioning in autism spectrum disorder: The role of social cognition

TLDR

Individuals with ASD face significant social functioning challenges, yet few modifiable predictors are known, and interventions that teach generalizable perspective‑taking skills may yield durable improvements across diverse contexts. The study aimed to determine whether deficits in social cognition and motor function explain poor social functioning in ASD. The authors analyzed cross‑sectional data from 108 ASD participants aged 9–27.5, measuring social cognition, motor function, and social functioning. Hierarchical regression revealed that higher social cognition, but not motor function, predicted better social functioning when controlling for sex, age, and IQ, and post‑hoc analyses linked superior second‑order false‑belief performance to more adaptive behavior and fewer social problems, underscoring the value of interventions that target social cognition.

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience marked challenges with social function by definition, but few modifiable predictors of social functioning in ASD have been identified in extant research. This study hypothesized that deficits in social cognition and motor function may help to explain poor social functioning in individuals with ASD. Cross-sectional data from 108 individuals with ASD and without intellectual disability ages 9 through 27.5 were used to assess the relationship between social cognition and motor function, and social functioning. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that greater social cognition, but not motor function, was significantly associated with better social functioning when controlling for sex, age, and intelligence quotient. Post-hoc analyses revealed that better performance on second-order false belief tasks was associated with higher levels of socially adaptive behavior and lower levels of social problems. Our findings support the development and testing of interventions that target social cognition in order to improve social functioning in individuals with ASD. Interventions that teach generalizable skills to help people with ASD better understand social situations and develop competency in advanced perspective taking have the potential to create more durable change because their effects can be applied to a wide and varied set of situations and not simply a prescribed set of rehearsed situations.