Child Development and Behavior Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 2693 Kai Chuang Avenue, Huangpu District, Guangzhou, 510530, China.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 Sep;54(9):3387-3399. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-06056-w. Epub 2023 Jul 22.
The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) is a group-based social skills training program for adolescents on the autism spectrum. Although the program has been shown to be effective in improving social skills in autistic adolescents, evidence of its effectiveness from the Mandarin-speaking Chinese population is sparse. The present study used a non-randomized, pre- and post-intervention research design to investigate the feasibility and cultural validity of the program, as well as examine the moderators of intervention outcomes.
Thirty-three autistic adolescents with intelligence quotient above 70 (M = 13.57, SD = 1.43; Male: Female 25:8) and their parents received 14 concurrent 90-minute sessions. Adolescents' autistic traits, challenging behaviors, emotional functioning, socio-cognitive process, social environment factors (school support), and caregivers' well-being were evaluated.
The findings suggest that with minor adjustments, the Mandarin version of PEERS was generally acceptable and feasible for autistic adolescents and their parents. PEERS may improve the social skills knowledge, reciprocal communication abilities, and emotional well-being of autistic adolescents. Also, participants with a higher level of school support, and parents with lower perceived subjective well-being at baseline may gain more benefits from PEERS. The cultural adaptation and acceptability of the Mandarin Version of PEERS were discussed.
This feasibility study (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2200061417, 2022-06-23, retrospectively registered) provides a basis for further randomized control trials of the Mandarin version of PEERS.
PEERS（Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills）是一种基于小组的社交技能训练计划，针对自闭症谱系中的青少年。尽管该计划已被证明可以有效提高自闭症青少年的社交技能，但来自讲普通话的中文人群的证据却很少。本研究采用非随机、前后干预研究设计，旨在调查该计划的可行性和文化适宜性，并检验干预结果的调节因素。
33 名智商高于 70 的自闭症青少年（M = 13.57，SD = 1.43；男性：女性 25:8）及其父母接受了 14 次同时进行的 90 分钟课程。评估了青少年的自闭症特征、挑战性行为、情绪功能、社会认知过程、社会环境因素（学校支持）和照顾者的幸福感。
研究结果表明，经过轻微调整，普通话版的 PEERS 对自闭症青少年及其父母来说通常是可以接受和可行的。PEERS 可能会提高自闭症青少年的社交技能知识、互惠沟通能力和情绪幸福感。此外，基线时学校支持水平较高、父母主观幸福感较低的参与者可能会从 PEERS 中获益更多。讨论了普通话版 PEERS 的文化适应性和可接受性。
这项可行性研究（中国临床试验注册中心：ChiCTR2200061417，2022-06-23，回顾性注册）为进一步开展普通话版 PEERS 的随机对照试验提供了依据。
