Abstract
More autistic adults are entering into the work force and enrolling in postsecondary schools. However, overall, autistic adults experience a more difficult time than neurotypical peers completing postsecondary education, obtaining employment, and maintaining employment. Less is known about outcomes for subgroups of autistic adults who have typical or elevated intellectual and verbal abilities. The present study looks at the significance of self-reported autistic traits, camouflaging, and mental health (anxiety, depression, intolerance of uncertainty) factors for predicting educational and employment outcomes in a sample of 148 adults with an autism diagnosis and no co-occurring intellectual disability. Of the total sample, 118 had clinically confirmed diagnosis of autism. Participants completed self-report measures of education/employment involvement (VI), adaptive functioning (WHODAS 2.0), autistic traits, (AQ), camouflaging autistic traits (CAT-Q), anxiety (PROMIS Anxiety-Short Form), Depression (PROMIS Depression-Short Form), and intolerance of uncertainty (IUS-12). Descriptive metrics show that autistic adults in this sample are doing better than reported in previous studies, with 64% enrolled in an educational program and/or employed including 39% who are employed at least 20 hours/week. Nonetheless the adults in this sample fall below expected means for the general population. Notably, the adults in this sample continue to experience significant difficulties in adaptive functioning; in particular, females experience unique challenges compared to those of male counterparts as adaptive behavior scores were significantly higher for females than males, showing greater challenges. SEM models show that camouflaging, as mediated by mental health, positively impacts education/employment outcome. This finding suggests that appearing less autistic can positively impact one's ability to engage in postsecondary education and employment settings, although at a cost to mental health. Further, the relationships seen in the overall SEM model were shown in the sex-based SEM models. Both female and male autistic adults seem to experience notable cost to mental health, despite reporting more favorable educational and employment outcomes. These findings indicate the need for more nuanced research, clinical, and societal efforts to address the gap in education achievement and employment success.
College and Department
Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Park, So Yeon, "Postsecondary Education Achievement and Employment Outcomes in Adults with Self-Reported Autism Diagnosis" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 9821.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9821
Date Submitted
2022-01-18
Document Type
Dissertation
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12659
Keywords
Postsecondary Education Achievement and Employment Outcomes in Adults with Self-Reported Autism Diagnosis
Language
english