Table 1.
Demographic and clinical variables of the study participants
| ASD (n = 30) | CON (n = 26) | P‐ASD (n = 27) | P‐CON (n = 21) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | P | Cohen's d | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | P | Cohen's d | |
| Age | 18.77 | 6.09 | 18.96 | 5.13 | 0.89 | 0.03 | 49.07 | 6.03 | 46.62 | 5.66 | 0.16 | 0.41 |
| Education | 11.57 | 3.88 | 12.62 | 4.08 | 0.33 | 0.26 | 15.70 | 2.67 | 15.86 | 3.48 | 0.86 | 0.05 |
| Sex (F/M) | 4/26 | 5/21 | 0.55 | — | 21/6 | 17/4 | 0.79 | — | ||||
| Handedness (R/L) | 26/4 | 23/3 | 0.84 | — | 27/0 | 21/0 | — | — | ||||
| The FSIQ | 108.37 | 9.56 | 111.31 | 5.76 | 0.18 | 0.37 | 109.58 | 4.92 | 110.81 | 4.42 | 0.40 | 0.26 |
| The AASP | ||||||||||||
| Taste/Smell | 20.33 | 5.15 | 20.08 | 3.02 | 0.83 | 0.06 | 20.81 | 3.73 | 18.86 | 3.01 | 0.06 | 0.58 |
| Movement | 18.80 | 4.01 | 20.00 | 3.37 | 0.24 | 0.32 | 19.19 | 3.71 | 18.48 | 3.17 | 0.49 | 0.21 |
| Visual | 25.23 | 6.10 | 22.73 | 3.38 | 0.07 | 0.51 | 26.19 | 4.13 | 23.14 | 2.71 | <0.01* | 0.87 |
| Tactile | 33.77 | 8.29 | 29.81 | 4.17 | 0.03* | 0.60 | 31.85 | 5.43 | 27.90 | 5.36 | 0.02* | 0.63 |
| Activity level | 32.40 | 5.14 | 28.00 | 3.84 | <0.01* | 0.97 | 27.48 | 4.64 | 24.76 | 2.79 | 0.02* | 0.73 |
| Auditory | 34.47 | 5.39 | 27.92 | 5.15 | <0.01* | 1.24 | 29.85 | 5.61 | 26.81 | 4.30 | 0.04* | 0.61 |
| Total scores | 165.00 | 24.59 | 148.54 | 14.23 | <0.01* | 0.82 | 155.37 | 20.06 | 139.90 | 13.62 | <0.01* | 0.90 |
| The SORI | 16.42 | 8.61 | 11.08 | 6.72 | 0.02* | 0.69 | 13.00 | 12.05 | 8.71 | 5.75 | 0.14* | 0.45 |
| The AQ | ||||||||||||
| Social skills | 6.04 | 2.89 | 3.08 | 2.50 | <0.01* | 1.10 | 3.85 | 2.44 | 3.38 | 1.86 | 0.48 | 0.22 |
| Attentional switch | 6.74 | 1.51 | 4.88 | 1.56 | <0.01* | 1.21 | 4.54 | 1.79 | 3.62 | 1.77 | 0.09 | 0.52 |
| Attention to detail | 5.59 | 2.50 | 3.68 | 1.99 | <0.01* | 0.85 | 4.96 | 2.07 | 3.29 | 2.15 | <0.01* | 0.79 |
| Communication | 5.78 | 2.49 | 2.56 | 1.81 | <0.01* | 1.48 | 2.73 | 1.69 | 2.48 | 1.72 | 0.61 | 0.15 |
| Imagination | 4.81 | 2.22 | 2.92 | 1.63 | <0.01* | 0.97 | 3.54 | 1.45 | 3.10 | 1.34 | 0.29 | 0.32 |
| Total scores | 28.96 | 7.56 | 17.16 | 4.43 | <0.01* | 1.90 | 19.62 | 5.37 | 15.95 | 2.31 | <0.01* | 0.89 |
| The TAS‐20 | ||||||||||||
| Identifying emotions | 16.23 | 3.88 | 11.90 | 3.10 | <0.01* | 1.23 | 13.85 | 4.29 | 11.78 | 2.13 | 0.07 | 0.61 |
| Describing emotions | 20.50 | 5.49 | 15.62 | 3.37 | <0.01* | 1.07 | 17.07 | 4.71 | 13.78 | 3.61 | 0.02* | 0.78 |
| External‐oriented | 21.50 | 4.73 | 19.05 | 4.96 | 0.08 | 0.56 | 20.11 | 3.26 | 20.56 | 3.99 | 0.68 | 0.12 |
| Total scores | 58.23 | 10.61 | 46.57 | 8.68 | <0.01* | 1.20 | 51.04 | 10.37 | 46.11 | 6.74 | 0.08 | 0.56 |
| The RBS‐R | ||||||||||||
| Stereotypic | 4.62 | 4.22 | 1.50 | 2.25 | <0.01* | 0.92 | 1.22 | 2.50 | 0.14 | 0.48 | 0.06 | 0.59 |
| Self‐injury | 3.00 | 4.26 | 0.88 | 1.73 | 0.02* | 0.65 | 0.44 | 1.09 | 0.14 | 0.66 | 0.27 | 0.33 |
| Compulsive | 6.62 | 5.44 | 2.12 | 3.05 | <0.01* | 1.02 | 2.33 | 3.44 | 1.71 | 2.19 | 0.48 | 0.22 |
| Ritualistic | 3.46 | 2.75 | 1.50 | 2.47 | <0.01* | 0.75 | 1.81 | 3.52 | 0.19 | 0.60 | 0.04* | 0.64 |
| Sameness | 8.50 | 5.78 | 1.35 | 1.85 | <0.01* | 1.67 | 3.41 | 6.01 | 0.90 | 2.07 | 0.08 | 0.56 |
| Restricted | 4.73 | 2.97 | 1.23 | 1.93 | <0.01* | 1.40 | 1.48 | 2.98 | 0.43 | 0.98 | 0.13 | 0.47 |
| Total scores | 30.92 | 19.83 | 8.58 | 9.46 | <0.01* | 1.44 | 10.70 | 15.99 | 3.52 | 5.39 | 0.06 | 0.60 |
Abbreviations: AASP, Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile; AQ, Autism Spectrum Quotient; ASD, autism spectrum condition; CON, matched controls; F, Females; FSIQ, Full Scale Intelligence Quotient; L, Left; M, Males; P‐ASD, parents of ASD; P‐CON, parents of the CON; R, Right; RBS‐R, Repetitive Behaviors Scale‐Revised; SORI, Sensory Over‐Responsivity Inventory; TAS‐20, Toronto Alexithymia Scale‐20.
*
P‐value <0.05.