Table 3.
PCA results and the percentage of students with and without autism who agreed with the corresponding questionnaire item
| Factor | Items | Varimax rotations | ASD (%) | non-autistic (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social functioning | |||
| I often find it difficult to socialize with others | 0.787 | 70.5 | 34.1 | |
| I often feel I am involved in socializing with others | 0.785 | 12 | 57.4 | |
| I often feel outgoing and friendly | 0.751 | 20 | 50.3 | |
| I often feel I don’t have any friends | 0.687 | 65.4 | 19 | |
| I often feel left out | 0.674 | 69.3 | 33.6 | |
| I often find it difficult to introduce myself to others | 0.659 | 77 | 45.5 | |
| I often feel I prefer to be alone | 0.657 | 76 | 42 | |
| I often feel shy | 0.643 | 69.3 | 43.1 | |
| I often get excited when I see an opportunity for meeting a new person I like | 0.631 | 23 | 66.5 | |
| I have the social skills to succeed at my institution | 0.619 | 28 | 70 | |
| I often feel that I have a lot in common with the people around me | 0.611 | 23.1 | 47.5 | |
| I think that having friends does not bring much to my life | 0.598 | 19.2 | 3.8 | |
| My motivation to have friends is the pleasure I get by talking to friends | 0.568 | 69.2 | 88.6 | |
| My motivation to have friends is the fun moments I have with friends | 0.564 | 76.9 | 89.2 | |
| I am involved in social activities at my institution | 0.560 | 20 | 53.5 | |
| I often feel willing to maintain my current friendships | 0.558 | 64 | 83.5 | |
| I often feel that my relationships with others are not meaningful | 0.555 | 72 | 29.8 | |
| I often feel alone | 0.554 | 76.9 | 39.9 | |
| I prefer to spend time in quiet places on campus | 0.536 | 80 | 56.7 | |
| My motivation to have friends is the fun of doing interesting things with friends | 0.492 | 80 | 91.1 | |
| I feel like people ignore me | 0.479 | 60 | 21 | |
| I often find it difficult to express my opinions to others | 0.464 | 53.8 | 29.8 | |
| My motivation to have friends is that friends make me feel better when I am sad | 0.453 | 56 | 57.7 | |
| I am better able to express myself with friends | 0.406 | 42.3 | 47.7 | |
| I have some good friends or acquaintances on my course with whom I can talk about any problems I may have | 0.458 | 38.5 | 68.2 | |
| I often feel like I get enough fun and enjoyment out of life | 0.416 | 40 | 55.7 | |
| I am having difficulty feeling at ease with other people on my course | 0.440 | 68 | 26.2 | |
| I feel I am very different from other students in ways that I don’t like | 0.493 | 64 | 24.5 | |
| 2 | Academic functioning | |||
| I am enjoying my academic work | 0.756 | 64 | 67.5 | |
| I am quite satisfied with my academic situation at my institution | 0.751 | 44 | 63.4 | |
| I am adjusting well to my institution | 0.737 | 40 | 82.7 | |
| I feel confident that I will be able to deal in a satisfactory manner with future challenges here at my institution | 0.691 | 38.4 | 76.6 | |
| I have thoughts of withdrawing from my institution/course | 0.667 | 56 | 15.3 | |
| I get good grades | 0.667 | 65.4 | 68.3 | |
| I am pleased about my decision to go to higher education | 0.650 | 76 | 89.8 | |
| I really haven’t had much motivation for studying lately | 0.643 | 60 | 30.6 | |
| My academic goals and purposes are well defined | 0.604 | 60 | 65 | |
| I have the academic skills to succeed in my institution | 0.584 | 70.9 | 78.4 | |
| I am satisfied with the level at which I am performing academically | 0.579 | 48 | 57.4 | |
| I find it easy to focus when I am studying | 0.518 | 32 | 37.6 | |
| I have good study habits in terms of the time and activity I allocate to studying | 0.497 | 50 | 50.4 | |
| I find myself giving considerable thought to taking time off from my current institution and finishing later | 0.482 | 40 | 12.7 | |
| Lately I have been having doubts regarding the value of university education to me | 0.477 | 28 | 14.7 | |