Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Tolulope Osoba

Abstract

Research exploring the impact of autism interventions on the quality of life (QoL) of adults with autism is scarce. This correlational, cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine the association between seven interventions—behavioral, social, mental health, daily living skills, vocational, mindfulness, and medications—and the QoL and mental health of adults 18 years and older with autism with no intellectual disability living in Canada. A national sample of 182 autistic adults completed the survey that used the WHOQOL-BREF and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale to measure subjective QoL and mental health, respectively. Behavioral, mental health, and medications were the mostly used interventions (67%, 71.4%, and 82.4%). QoL was lower across all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF compared to the general population and moderate levels of anxiety and depression were reported. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that characteristics, such as autism severity, being female, and older age negatively predicted QoL across all domains except for the physical domain, whereas being in a relationship positively predicted social QoL explaining 35.2% of the variance. Of the seven interventions used, behavioral therapies and receiving mental health support consistently predicted a better QoL across all domains, except for the environment domain where only mental health support was a significant predictor. Autism severity negatively predicted anxiety and depression while none of the interventions reached statistical significance. These findings suggest prioritizing provision of behavioral and mental health interventions to adults with autism and inform future research to evaluate their effectiveness in QoL outcomes as an end goal.

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