Cross cultural differences of parent reported social skills in children with autistic disorder: An examination between South Korea and the United States of America

Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders are universally accepted; however, the reported severity of symptoms may be sensitive to cultural differences. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the differences in reported symptoms of appropriate and inappropriate social skills between children and adolescents from South Korea (SK) and the United States (US). Scores on the three subscales of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters, Second Edition (MESSY-II) were compared between 147 participants from either SK (n = 49) or the US (n = 98). Children and adolescents from the two countries scored statistically different from each other on the Hostile, Adaptive/Appropriate, and Inappropriately Assertive subscales. However, the mean scores for participants from the two countries fell into the same impairment level on the MESSY-II, indicating no clinically significant differences. The implications of these results are discussed.

► Negative and positive social skills were compared.
► US participants had more significant inappropriate and appropriate social skills than South Koreans.
► Participants from both countries scored in the same impairment range.