Understanding of Their Own Character Strengths by Late Adolescents and Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine characteristics of the understanding of their own character strengths (CS) of late adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to typically developed (TD) people. Questionnaires were completed by 31 people with autism spectrum disorder (23 men, 8 women; ages late teens through 40s, average age 29.8 years) and/or their parents, and 167 typically developed people (104 men, 63 women; average age 22.9 years). It was confırmed that the character strength measurement scale could be applied to people with autism spectrum disorder. According to the relative ranking of 24 character strengths, the respondents with autism spectrum disorder recognized features such as gratitude, humility, and prudence relatively more than the typically developed respondents did. A two-way analysis of variance with disability and mental health as independent variables revealed that for the character strengths characterized by social relationships in which social skills were required, the scores of the respondents with autism spectrum disorder were signifıcantly lower than those of the typically developed respondents. On the other hand, no difference was found between the 2 groups’ scores on the character strengths characterized by emotional relationships, such as recognition of support resources. These data enable an identifıcation of strengths of people with autism spectrum disorder, which may contribute to enhanced support for people with autism spectrum disorder.