Abstract
Cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been reported world-wide and researchers are beginning to examine if differences
occur among different countries. With social skill impairments being a main component of ASD, it is important to determine
if these symptoms are consistent across cultures. The current study compared 160 children with ASD, 135 from the United States
and 25 from the United Kingdom, on the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II) which is composed of three subscales: Hostile, Adaptive/Appropriate, and Inappropriate Assertiveness/Overconfident. First,
the MESSY-II was found to have excellent internal reliability for both countries. Secondly, findings indicated that significant differences
only occurred on the Adaptive/Appropriate subscale with the US children having greater adaptive social skills than the UK
children. However, for both groups, mean scores fell in the severe range of impairment. Importance of similarities and differences
in social skills between countries are discussed.
occur among different countries. With social skill impairments being a main component of ASD, it is important to determine
if these symptoms are consistent across cultures. The current study compared 160 children with ASD, 135 from the United States
and 25 from the United Kingdom, on the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II) which is composed of three subscales: Hostile, Adaptive/Appropriate, and Inappropriate Assertiveness/Overconfident. First,
the MESSY-II was found to have excellent internal reliability for both countries. Secondly, findings indicated that significant differences
only occurred on the Adaptive/Appropriate subscale with the US children having greater adaptive social skills than the UK
children. However, for both groups, mean scores fell in the severe range of impairment. Importance of similarities and differences
in social skills between countries are discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s10882-011-9261-1
- Authors
- Megan Sipes, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Frederick Furniss, The Hesley Group and University of Leicester, South Yorkshire, UK
- Johnny L. Matson, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Megan Hattier, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Journal Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities
- Online ISSN 1573-3580
- Print ISSN 1056-263X