Meta-Analysis of Soft Skills Interventions for Transition-Age Autistic Individuals

There has been growing interest in developing and evaluating soft skills interventions for transition-age autistic individuals. While many interventions demonstrated effectiveness in improving social competence, there is limited evidence on the pooled effectiveness of these interventions. In response to the research gap, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of soft skills interventions in enhancing social competence among transition-age autistic individuals. A total of 18 articles consisting of eight randomized controlled trials and 10 pre- and post-intervention studies were identified after a systematic review, and the effectiveness of these interventions was examined using the meta package on R 4.4.1. The analysis revealed overall positive effects of soft skills interventions in social adjustment (g = 0.53, p < 0.0001), social performance (g = 0.87, p < 0.001), and social skills (g = 0.53, p < 0.0001) among the autistic individuals. Moderation analyses indicated no significant impact of sample and intervention characteristics on soft skills outcomes. This meta-analysis highlights the importance of soft skills interventions for transition-age autistic individuals in preparing for successful careers.