Negotiation strategies of adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder during social conflicts

• This study compares between the conflict resolution skills of adolescents with HFASD and typically developing adolescents.
• Adolescents with HFASD have significant less overall use of negotiation strategies in comparison to typically developing adolescents when dealing with conflict.
• Adolescents with HFASD significantly have less self-confidence, and use less communication, cooperation and compromise skills for social conflict.

This study investigated the differences between negotiation strategies of adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) and typically developing adolescents. Twenty-one adolescents with HFASD and 27 typically developing adolescents, matched on age, school year and gender distribution, completed negotiation strategy and conflict resolution questionnaires designed to measure the negotiation factors and the conflict resolution styles used during conflict situations. The participants with HFASD reported fewer negotiation skills as reflected by lower self-confidence, lower cooperation, less communication and fewer compromise skills. The decreased use of negotiation strategies by adolescents with HFASD may be related to their difficulty in attributing mental states to others, and may impact their ability to deal with social conflicts and create positive interactions and rewarding relationships.