Table 2.
Comparisons of executive functions among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) youth, stratified by ages 8–12 and 13–18 years
| Age 8–12 years | Age 13–18 years | Age effect | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables, mean (s.d.) | ASD (N = 53) | TD (N = 63) | Univariate analysis F(1,114) | Multivariate analysis F(3,112) a | ASD (N = 58) | TD (N = 51) | Univariate analysis F(1,107) | Multivariate analysis F(3,105) a | ASD β (p value) | TD β (p value) |
| Digit Span | ||||||||||
| Digit Span, forward | 7.63 (1.21) | 8.46 (0.88) | 17.72*** | 12.49*** | 8.11 (1.00) | 8.67 (0.59) | 11.80*** | 11.80*** | 0.10 (0.022) | 0.08 (0.006) |
| Digit Span, backward | 4.44 (1.57) | 6.05 (1.70) | 26.13*** | 20.171*** | 5.70 (1.71) | 6.92 (1.44) | 15.47*** | 15.81*** | 0.21 (0.001) | 0.26 (<0.001) |
| Spatial Span | ||||||||||
| Span length | 6.04 (1.68) | 7.14 (1.19) | 17.15*** | 11.90*** | 7.16 (1.50) | 7.98 (1.24) | 9.67** | 9.37** | 0.19 (0.001) | 0.25 (<0.001) |
| Total errors | 14.02 (5.80) | 14.65 (5.55) | 0.35 | 0.96 | 12.48 (7.15) | 11.16 (6.00) | 1.08 | 1.36 | −0.33 (0.138) | −0.90 (<0.001) |
| Spatial working memory | ||||||||||
| Total errors | 40.89 (19.85) | 25.90 (15.99) | 20.27*** | 13.07*** | 26.62 (17.98) | 14.18 (13.62) | 16.24*** | 16.91*** | −2.85 (<0.001) | −3.53 (<0.001) |
| Strategy utilization | 35.19 (4.25) | 33.76 (3.66) | 3.77 | 2.02 | 32.83 (5.61) | 30.06 (5.33) | 6.92** | 7.70** | −0.48 (0.006) | −0.85 (<0.001) |
| Stockings of Cambridge | ||||||||||
| Problems solved in minimum moves | 6.92 (2.11) | 8.02 (1.96) | 8.30** | 5.20* | 8.81 (2.02) | 9.37 (1.81) | 2.31 | 2.46 | 0.31 (<0.001) | 0.08 (<0.001) |
| Total moves | 19.09 (2.73) | 17.46 (1.94) | 14.06*** | 11.11** | 17.22 (2.26) | 16.32 (1.97) | 4.86* | 4.94* | −0.30 (0.001) | −0.27 (0.001) |
| Intradimensional/extradimensional shift | ||||||||||
| Extra-dimensional shift errors | 12.74 (10.47) | 10.16 (9.69) | 1.89 | 1.34 | 7.97 (8.92) | 7.53 (8.61) | 0.07 | 0.08 | −0.77 (0.023) | −0.65 (0.085) |
| Pre-extra-dimensional shift errors | 8.40 (5.58) | 6.75 (2.05) | 4.76* | 3.96* | 6.81 (2.79) | 7.31 (5.76) | 0.35 | 0.41 | −0.30 (0.042) | 0.19 (0.255) |
| Completed stages | 8.15 (1.17) | 8.52 (0.80) | 4.13* | 3.97* | 8.72 (0.67) | 8.65 (1.13) | 0.19 | 0.15 | 0.09 (0.007) | 0.03 (0.473) |
s.d., Standard deviation.
a
Controlling for age and sex.
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.