Zukerman Gil, Yahav Gili, Ben-Itzchak Ester
Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
Bruckner Center for Autism Research, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 3;14:1146819. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1146819. eCollection 2023.
Previous research on autistic students enrolled in university support programs has reported moderate improvement in anxiety/depression or adaptive behavior. However, alterations in autistic traits have not been examined.
This longitudinal study evaluated changes in university students' autistic trait and state/trait anxiety levels. Participants were 24 neurotypically developed (ND) students with high levels of social anxiety symptoms (High SA), 30 ND students with low levels of SA symptoms (Low SA), and 41 autistic students (the primary focus of this study) residing with an ND peer student mentor as part of participating in the university's integration support program. Autism spectrum quotient [AQ and State Trait Anxiety Inventory STAI] data were collected during the first semester of two consecutive academic years (T1, T2), as well as baseline (T1) levels of social anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Significant interaction between group and time was observed, denoting a sharp decrease (2.9 SD) from T1 to T2 in the overall autistic trait level among the autistic group (AQ "attention switching" subscale demonstrating the most robust decrease), and a moderate decrease (0.5 SD) among the high SA group. Only for the autistic students were more compulsive symptoms at T1 associated with a lesser decrease in AQ scores (T1-T2), which in turn was negatively correlated with their T1 year-end grade point average.
The findings suggest that attending post-secondary education (while partaking in a support/transition program) is followed by a profound change of the individual's subjective experience of autism, characterized by a sharp decline in the level of autistic traits, particularly attention switching. This change is independent of alterations in well-being indices, such as anxiety, that are known to characterize students attending university.
先前对参加大学支持项目的自闭症学生的研究报告称，他们在焦虑/抑郁或适应性行为方面有适度改善。然而，自闭症特征的变化尚未得到研究。
这项纵向研究评估了大学生自闭症特征以及状态/特质焦虑水平的变化。参与者包括24名具有高水平社交焦虑症状的神经典型发育（ND）学生（高社交焦虑组）、30名具有低水平社交焦虑症状的ND学生（低社交焦虑组），以及41名自闭症学生（本研究的主要对象），这些自闭症学生与一名ND同伴学生导师住在一起，作为参与大学融合支持项目的一部分。在连续两个学年的第一学期（T1、T2）收集了自闭症谱系商数[AQ]和状态-特质焦虑量表[STAI]数据，以及社交焦虑、抑郁和强迫症状的基线（T1）水平。
观察到组与时间之间存在显著交互作用，表明自闭症组的总体自闭症特征水平从T1到T2急剧下降（2.9标准差）（AQ“注意力转换”子量表下降最为明显），高社交焦虑组下降幅度适中（0.5标准差）。仅对于自闭症学生，T1时更多的强迫症状与AQ分数（T1 - T2）下降幅度较小相关，而这又与他们T1学年的平均绩点呈负相关。
研究结果表明，接受高等教育（同时参加支持/过渡项目）后，个体对自闭症的主观体验会发生深刻变化，其特征是自闭症特征水平急剧下降，尤其是注意力转换方面。这种变化独立于幸福感指标的变化，如焦虑，而焦虑是已知的大学生特征。
