Factors Associated with Participation in Extracurricular Activities in Adolescents with and without Asd from an Australian Representative Cohort.

Background: According to the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (WHO, 2001), participation in social activities is a key determinant of functioning. Participating in social activities during adolescence is considered important for adult functioning. There is some evidence that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participate less in social activities compared to their typically developing peers (TD). However, few studies have investigated what factors contribute to reduced participation. Understanding these factors will guide interventions for individuals with ASD and their families to enhance their functioning during adolescence and into adulthood.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to: (1) compare the number of weekly activities that 14-15 year old adolescents with and without ASD participate in; (2) investigate factors associated with participation such as level of parental education, socio-economic status (SES), parent mental health, language spoken at home and family structure.

Methods: This study used data collected from the Kindergarten cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a longitudinal study following up a representative sample of 10,000 Australian children every two years. The data set used for this study comprised 3,360 14-15 year olds without ASD and 94 with parent-reported ASD. These groups were compared based on the number of extracurricular activities they participated in (e.g., going to the cinema, swimming pool, sporting event, religious activity, library, concert, museum or another community event). We also investigated associations between participation and parent-reported characteristics of the family including the level of parental education, SES, parental mental health (depression), being from a family where English is the second language, being from a single parent family.

Results: Adolescents with TD did not differ from those with ASD in the number of extracurricular activities they participated in on a weekly basis (M_TD= 1.17, sd _TD= 1.07; M_ASD = 0.89, sd _ASD= 1.07; p = 0.198). Parents of adolescents with ASD were more likely to have had an episode of depression compared to TD peers (odds ratio= .53; 95% Conf. Interval = .34 - .85). Adjusted regression analyses showed lower participation in adolescents was associated with lower family SES (β= 0.001; p < .001), single parent family (β = 0.16; p = .001), English as a second language (β = 0.29; p<.001), lower parent education level (β = 0.33; p< .001) and the parent having had a major depressive episode during the last year (β= 0.10; p = .01).

Conclusions: Parental mental health, specifically having had depression during the last year, but not the young person’s autism status, was associated with adolescents’ participation in extracurricular activities. The assessment and treatment of parental depression should therefore be considered as part of a family centred approach when developing a support plan to enhance participation in adolescents with ASD.