METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR STUDYING SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN ADOLESCENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: RATIONALE FOR THE ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT

Abstract

The article examines the methodological foundations for studying social competence in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and substantiates the assessment toolkit used to evaluate the Ukrainian adaptation of the PEERS® program. The aim of the article is to provide a theoretical and methodological rationale for a set of instruments that captures social knowledge, real-life peer interaction, co-occurring emotional factors, and the transfer of skills to natural settings. The study used theoretical analysis, systematization and synthesis of international research on social skills, a comparative analysis of instruments by construct, informant, psychometric properties, sensitivity to change and use in PEERS® studies, as well as modelling of the assessment structure. A multilevel model of social competence assessment is proposed, covering social knowledge, social behaviour and peer interaction, generalization of skills, and co-occurring factors. The choice of primary outcome measures (TASSK, QPQ-A, QPQ-P), secondary measures of anxiety (SCARED-C, SCARED-P), instruments for sample description (SCQ, CASD), and an original questionnaire of social communication skills is justified. Combining adolescent self-report, parent report and behavioural measurement is shown to reduce the limitations of each single source of information. Limitations of the toolkit in the Ukrainian context are outlined: the limited choice of instruments due to the small number of measures adapted and translated in Ukraine, the need for psychometric validation of the Ukrainian versions, the uncertain cut-off scores of some scales for individuals with ASD, and discrepancies between informants. An assessment scheme is proposed that links each level of the model to specific indicators, informants and measurement points, and methodological requirements for the assessment procedure are defined, including standardized administration conditions and recording of contextual factors. Particular attention is paid to distinguishing a lack of social knowledge from a failure to apply skills in everyday life. It is concluded that the proposed toolkit ensures comparability of Ukrainian findings with international data and allows the functional outcomes of the intervention to be assessed.