Short report: A quantitative methodological review of participant characteristics in the literature testing mental health interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

There have been significant efforts to develop, adapt, and test interventions targeting the co-occurring mental health conditions common among autistic youth, with several extant narrative and systematic reviews demonstrating the efficacy of these interventions. Yet, a methodological analysis of the literature testing these interventions, particularly the characteristics of the participant samples comprising this evidence base, is needed to contextualize our current understanding of treatment effects and highlight current gaps in the current evidence base to inform future research. This systematic quantitative methodology review characterized participants included in the mental health treatment research for autistic youth. One hundred and thirty-one articles testing mental health interventions for autism spectrum disorder were coded for youth, caregiver, and provider participant demographics. Findings indicated limited representation of females, transition age youth, racial/ethnic minority groups, and youth diverse in cognitive functioning and co-occurring mental health symptoms or conditions. Limited inclusion of providers’ representative of the clinical workforce was also noted. These results illuminate several critical gaps in the current evidence base for mental health interventions for autistic youth and provide recommendations for future research directions.

Lay abstract

Previous research has highlighted the importance of mental health treatment for autistic youth. In that research base, most studies focus on demonstrating the efficacy of a particular intervention with a sample of autistic youth. However, understanding the characteristics of samples used within these studies (i.e. demographics) is an important avenue for expanding this research to a more diverse, representative sample of autistic youth in community settings. As such, the current review examined and characterized participants included within mental health treatment research. We coded studies for various demographics among the youth sample, caregivers, and providers participants. Results indicated that while efforts have been made to increase diversity in research, very few studies including transition-aged youth, those identifying as female, and/or those identifying as non-Caucasian. Clinically, a few studies included youth with lower cognitive abilities and/or those with specific mental health problems (e.g. trauma and depression) or more than one co-occurring mental health conditions. Overall, our results highlight several critical gaps in our current evidence base regarding mental health treatment for autistic youth, including the limited clinical representativeness of both provider and child participants.