Respond to one of your colleagues’ posts and:

1. Make recommendations for the design choice.
2. Explain whether you think that this is the appropriate t test to use for the research question. Why or why not?
3. As a lay reader, were you able to understand the results and their implications? Why or why not?

This is my classmate article i have to critique

Article:

Jamison, T. R., & Schuttler, J. O. (2015). Examining social competence, self-perception, quality of life, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescent females with and without autism spectrum disorder: a quantitative design including between-groups and correlational analyses. Molecular Autism, 6(1), 1–16. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0044-x

Which is the research design used by the authors? Why did the authors use this t test?

The Authors used a quantitative design correlational analysis. The t test was used to examine selected indicators of social-emotional health and problematic symptoms using the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS), Youth Quality of Life Instrument (YQOL), and the Self-Perceptions Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) for adolescent females with ASD in relation to their typically developing peers, (Jamison & Schuttler, 2015).

Did the authors display the data?

The Authors displayed the data to best present the demographic characteristics of GNO (Girls Night Out) participants with and without ASD and parents of girls with ASD.

Participant type                    N                     Mean age (SD)                       % White

ASD                                        23                    16.04 (1.72)                             91 %

No ASD                                  29                    16.75 (1.14)                             97 %

Parents—ASD                        23                     N/A                                                  N/A

Note: n size indicates maximum number that could have completed

Correlations among parent ratings of autism symptoms

and their perceptions of their daughter’s social competence on

the SSIS

                                                                                                          Autism Raw Score—SSIS

SSIS Social Skills Composite                                                                         −0.61

p = 0.002

SSIS Communication                                                                                     −0.72

p = 0.000

SSIS Cooperation                                                                                           −0.15

p = 0.499

SSIS Engagement                                                                                           −0.66

p = 0.001

SSIS Empathy                                                                                                 −0.57

p = 0.005

SSIS Problem Behavior Composite                                                                0.36

p = 0.091

SSIS Internalizing                                                                                           0.20

p = 0.354

SSIS Externalizing                                                                                         0.29

p = 0.176

Note: Only parents of participants with ASD completed SSIS (n = 23)

The table targets specific skills designed to promote social-emotional health across the

domains explored and to address the critical needs for this vulnerable population.

Do the results stand alone? Why or why not? Did the authors report effect size? If yes, is this meaningful?

The results do not stand alone as the data points out that young women with ASD observe themselves to be more challenged; therefore, reporting lower levels of social competence, self-concept, quality of life, yet higher rates of negative internal and external symptoms. This could indicate they are at a higher risk for negative experiences across the domain assessed, (Jamison & Schuttler, 2015). Additionally, the parent reports also expanded the impact of autism on the functioning of the young women, further indicating that for young women with ASD, as their symptoms are more elevated, their social competence becomes lowered (Jamison & Schuttler, 2015).

The authors, Watkins et al., (2014) acknowledge there were some limitations in this study; however, the sample size was relatively small and varied between groups and for specific measures, results suggest robust effects and an adequate sample size for most analyses.

Theoretically, the females represented less than 15 % of participants in published autism studies, with an exceedingly small proportion of research (approximately 1 %) with emphasis specifically on

females with ASD suggesting studies with small samples could make a significant contribution, (Watkins et al., 2014). Consequently, the impact of autism on a population that is already at higher risk due to increased social complexity, higher risk for negative self-concept and internalizing disorders uncovering the need for prevention and intervention custom-built to the unique experiences of this specific population, (Jamison & Schuttler, 2015).

Jamison, T. R., & Schuttler, J. O. (2015). Examining social competence, self-perception, quality of life, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescent females with and without autism spectrum disorder: a quantitative design including between-groups and correlational analyses. Molecular Autism, 6(1), 1–16. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1186/s13229-015-0044-x

Watkins EE, Zimmerman ZJ, Poling A. The gender of participants in published research involving people with autism spectrum disorders. Res.Autism Spect Dis. 2014;8(2):143–6. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2013.10.010