A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Korean Version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS®-YA-K) With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study - PubMed (original) (raw)

doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.730448. eCollection 2021.

Elizabeth Laugeson 2, Joo-Hyun Kim 3, Kyungah Lee 4, Jeeyun Kim 5, SeungHa Lee 6, Bora Lim 3, Seyoung Cha 7, Guiyoung Bong 3, Nan-He Yoon 8, Geon Ho Bahn 1, Hee Jeong Yoo 3 9

Affiliations

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Korean Version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS®-YA-K) With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

Miae Oh et al. Front Psychiatry. 2021.

Abstract

Evidence-based social skills interventions for young adults are limited, despite social difficulties in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) persisting after transition to adulthood. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS®-YA) is an evidence-based intervention found to be effective in improving relational skills in young adults with ASD. To translate the original American version of the PEERS®-YA treatment manual into Korean, intensive interviews were performed. Based on results from interviews, several rules of dating etiquette and social activities were modified to be culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate. Next, young adults diagnosed with ASD (18-35 years of age; IQ > 70) and their social coaches were recruited for the randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were randomly assigned either to a treatment group (TG; n = 19) or a delayed treatment group (DTG; n = 18). In the analysis of group differences in the TG and DTG, social skills knowledge was improved. The within group analyses showed positive effects of improving social skills knowledge on reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. After modest cultural adaptations focusing on dating and social activities, the implementation of the PEERS®-YA-K was found feasible for the Korean community. This is one of only a few cross-cultural validation trials establishing evidence-based treatment in young adults with ASD. Clinical Trial Registration: This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03310775.

Keywords: ASD; PEERS®; PEERS®-YA; cultural adaptations; social skills training.

Copyright © 2021 Oh, Laugeson, Kim, Lee, Kim, Lee, Lim, Cha, Bong, Yoon, Bahn and Yoo.

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Conflict of interest statement

HY receives royalties from Hakjisa for sales of the Korean versions of Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale and Social Communication Questionnaire and from Sigma Press for sales of the Korean version of PEERS® treatment manual for adolescents and PEERS®-YA-K manual. EL receives royalties from Routledge for sales of the PEERS® Treatment Manual and PEERS®-YA Treatment Manual. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Subject recruitment, assignment, and assessment procedures.

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