Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
05:32
Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Social functioning in autism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Siyi Li1, Huanqing Wang1, Guoqiu Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Nature Human Behaviour
|May 12, 2026
Summary
Autism
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Atypical social functioning is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Existing research on social functioning in ASD is fragmented across different components and developmental stages.
- A comprehensive understanding of the organization and development of social functioning in autism is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically integrate existing literature on social functioning in autism.
- To characterize the organization and development of social functioning across various components and domains in autism.
- To identify moderators influencing social functioning in autistic individuals.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioral studies (January 1990 - August 2025).
- Inclusion of studies with clinically diagnosed autistic individuals and neurotypical controls.
- Qualitative synthesis and quantitative meta-analyses covering 22 social components across five domains.
Main Results:
- Substantial overall group differences in social functioning between autistic and neurotypical individuals (Hedges' g = -0.744).
- Early emergence of differences in motivation-based processes (around 6 months), followed by motor, emotion, and inference domains.
- Age-related divergence in social skills, with some improvements observed over time.
- Stronger interdependencies between social domains in autism, suggesting a serial organizational pattern.
Conclusions:
- An integrative framework for understanding social functioning organization and development in autism has been established.
- Findings have implications for precision subtyping of autism.
- Results support the development of developmentally timed interventions and inform neurodiversity-informed research and policy.
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