Examining the Process and Impact of Social Problem Solving in Autistic Children.

Researchers studied how autistic children solve social problems by testing 58 children aged 6-10. They found that children who were better at identifying social problems, choosing appropriate goals, and preferring good solutions had fewer social difficulties according to their parents. The ability to identify problems was most important. These skills work together but are also separate abilities that could be targets for helping autistic children with social challenges.

This study examined social problem solving (SPS) components in 58 autistic children aged 6-10 years using a computerized assessment. The research investigated how different aspects of SPS—including problem identification, goal preference, and solution preference—relate to autism symptoms and social difficulties. Results showed that socially normative problem identification, goal preference, and solution preference were associated with fewer parent-reported social difficulties. Problem identification contributed the most unique variance to social difficulties, while combined SPS components accounted for substantial shared variance.

The findings suggest SPS components are interrelated but distinct constructs in autistic children, with implications for refining SPS-focused interventions.

Findings suggest SPS-focused interventions should target problem identification skills as a priority, while also addressing goal and solution preferences. The interrelated nature of SPS components supports comprehensive intervention approaches rather than targeting isolated skills. Results provide evidence base for refining existing social skills interventions for autistic children.

Single study with relatively small sample size (n=58). Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. Reliance on parent-reported outcomes may introduce bias. No comparison to neurotypical controls. Limited age range (6-10 years) restricts generalizability to other developmental stages.

Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has measured how SPS components not only relate to one another but also discretely and conjointly predict autism-related symptoms and social difficulties in autistic children, specifically. Fifty-eight autistic children (44 male; 6-10 years old, M=8.67, SD=1.31) completed a self-administered, computerized assessment of SPS.

To elucidate how SPS components discretely, and combined, contribute to autism-related symptoms and social difficulties, commonality analyses were conducted for each measure assessing autism-related symptoms and social difficulties. Socially normative problem identification, goal preference, and solution preference were related to fewer parent-reported autism-related social difficulties. Measures related to autism symptomatology, social perspective taking, and emotion recognition were not significantly associated with discrete SPS components in this sample. The problem identification aspect of SPS contributed the most unique variance to parent-reported autism-related social difficulties, while shared variance across all SPS components accounted for substantial variance in both parent-reported autism-related social difficulties models.

Results suggest that SPS components are interrelated, but distinct, constructs in the autistic population. These findings not only further clarify the impact of SPS components on autism-related symptoms and social difficulties, but also have implications for refining SPS-focused interventions in the autistic population.