［Paper］

Relationship between Contingencies of Self‑Worth, Contentment of
Sources of Self‑Worth, and Subjective Well‑Being of Japanese People
with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Shuhei Ogawa

Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Michio Kojima

Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Abstract
The study examined the relationship between contingencies of self‑worth, contentment ofsources of self‑worth, and subjective well‑being of Japanese adults with autism spectrum disorder(ASD), through a comparison with adults in the same age group. For this purpose, a questionnaire
survey was administered to a sample of 19 adults with ASD and 50 adults in the same age group (thecontrol group). The results showed that “friendships” and “enthusiastic activity” of the participants
with ASD were higher than those of the control group in terms of contingencies of self‑worth andcontentment of sources of self‑worth. In addition, no signiﬁcant correlations were found for the sub‑factors of contingencies of self‑worth and subjective well‑being among the adults with ASD. The
higher contentment of sources of self‑worth, “athletic competence,” and “friendships,” the higher
subjective well‑being of the adults with ASD. The implication of the findings is that enhancing“athletic competence” and “friendships” in contentment of sources of self‑worth may be eﬀective for
improving subjective well‑being of adults with ASD.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Contingencies of self‑worth, Contentment of sources of self‑
worth, Self‑esteem, Subjective well‑being

1.

Introduction

Self‑esteem has been deﬁned as the positivity of overall evaluative feelings toward oneself (Endo,2013). The perspectives from which self‑esteem can be analyzed include contingencies of self‑worth(CSW) and contentment of sources of self‑worth (CSSW). The former refers to the concept of what
domains take self‑esteem and the estimates of oneʼs own worth (Crocker et al., 2002; Crocker et al.,
2003; Uchida, 2008). As for the latter, ＊1 it has been defined as an indicator of how satisfied thesources of self‑esteem are (Ito et al., 2013).
Previous research has shown that CSW are related to motivation (Ohtani, 2012). Since people are
more likely to be motivated toward objects with high CSW, they will actively engage in them,
resulting in a higher CSSW. For example, those for whom athletic competence is a source of self‑
esteem (i.e., CSW in athletic competence are high) will actively engage in exercise. They will tend to
be more athletic (i.e., CSSW in athletic competence is high), and self‑esteem is likely to increase.
However, those for whom athletic competence is not a source of self‑esteem (i.e., CSW in athletic─ 38 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1

competence are low) will not actively engage in exercise. They will not tend to be more athletic, andself‑esteem is not likely to increase. In this regard, self‑esteem can be clarified by not only
considering it in terms of high and low self‑esteem, but also by focusing on CSW and CSSW.
As for the relationship between self‑esteem and various constructs, one construct with aparticularly strong relationship is subjective well‑being. Previous research has deﬁned subjective
well‑being as “a broad category of phenomena that includes peopleʼs emotional responses, domain
satisfactions, and global judgments of life satisfaction” (Diener et al., 1999). Subjective well‑being canalso be divided into two domains: cognitive and aﬀective (Diener et al., 1999). The cognitive aspectrefers to the degree of satisfaction with oneʼs life (Ito et al., 2003) and is the core concept of subjective
well‑being (Gilman and Huebner, 2006). On the other hand, the affective aspect consists of both
positive and negative emotions such as enjoyment and sadness (Ito et al., 2003).
Baumeister et al. (2003) found a strong relationship between subjective well‑being and self‑
esteem, with higher self‑esteem leading to higher subjective well‑being. Ito and Kodama (2005)
considered that a dispositional cognitive style that views aspects in a positive light can result in apositive perception of both the present self and life.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder related to social communication. Due to its
negative psychological aspects, a number of people with ASD have been diagnosed with depressive
symptoms or mental disorders in adolescence and adulthood (Kikuchi, 2010). Recent research has
begun to examine the positive psychological aspects of subjective well‑being among people with
ASD, rather than the negative ones. For instance, Scheeren et al. (2022) conducted a longitudinal
study of subjective well‑being of 917 individuals with ASD over a six‑year period. They found thatthe higher the objective psychosocial functioning is, such as employment, independent living, andfriendship ratings, the higher subjective well‑being is.
Studies of subjective well‑being have also begun to be conducted on Japanese individuals with
ASD. For example, Kojima (2018) compared the high and low subjective well‑being of 27 students/
working adults with ASD and 60 people in the same age group, and found little diﬀerence. They also
found that the higher self‑esteem of those with ASD, the higher their subjective well‑being. This
indicates the eﬀectiveness of self‑esteem support for enhancing subjective well‑being of individuals
with ASD.
Although self‑esteem of adults with ASD has been reported to be lower or similar than that oftypically developing adults, the ﬁndings have been inconsistent (e.g., Maras and Bowler, 2012; Nguyen
et al., 2020). The reason may be due to individual diﬀerences among people with ASD (Kojima andNoutomi, 2013). Given the possibility that self‑esteem of adults with ASD is lower or similar to thatof typically developing adults, and the possibility of individual diﬀerences, it is likely that there are anumber of adults with ASD who need self‑esteem support. However, it is unclear how to provide
such support. Previous research (Kojima, 2018) on self‑esteem and subjective well‑being ofindividuals with ASD has only examined the relationship between these two aspects, leaving thisissue open to discussion. Thus, it is important to clarify CSW and CSSW, which are two perspectives
from which self‑esteem can be analyzed in more detail.
In previous studies on CSW, they used developmentally appropriate scales. For example, studies
conducted on adolescents (Ohtani and Nakaya, 2010) used the CSW Scale for adolescents, while those
for adults (Crocker et al., 2003; Uchida, 2008) used the CSW Scale for adults. In the present study, weonly target adults with ASD who may have lower or similar self‑esteem than typically developing
adults.
By examining the relationship between CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being, we can clarify
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the relationship between self‑esteem and subjective well‑being among adults with ASD. We hope togain insight into how to help such adults lead more fulfilling lives through self‑esteem support.
Therefore, this study examined the relationship between CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being ofJapanese adults with ASD, through a comparison with adults in the same age group.

2.

Method2.1

Subjects
In order to recruit a sample of adults with ASD, requests were made to 13 parent associations ofchildren and persons with developmental disabilities in Japan, after which cooperation was obtained
from eight such associations. For each association, we asked the person in charge to send a lettercontaining the URL and QR code of the questionnaire to their members via e‑mail. While answering
the questionnaire, we basically asked the respondents to assume what they would answer in person.
Overall, we received 30 responses. After excluding the data with missing values, the number of
respondents with ASD (without intellectual disabilities) was 19 (18 males; 1 female). Among them, 5
had coexisting ADHD and 2 had coexisting ADHD and LD. Their ages ranged from 20 to 57 years,
with a mean age of 27.2 years (= 8.2).
For the control group, which consisted of a sample of adults in the same age range, an online
survey was conducted by Cross Marketing Inc. The ages of the 50 adults (45 males; 5 females)
ranged from 19 to 57 years, with a mean age of 25.5 years (= 6.2). A t‑test was also performed on
the ages of the adults with ASD and the control group, after which no signiﬁcant diﬀerences were
found ( (67) = 0.95, > .05). Thus, the ages of the adults with ASD and those of the adults in thecontrol group were similar.
2.2

Survey period
This research was conducted from June 2022 to September 2022.

2.3 Questionnaire
2.3.1 Information sheet
For the adults with ASD, they were asked to state their gender, age, occupation, and diagnosis.
For the control group, they were asked to provide their gender, age, and occupation.
2.3.2 CSW and CSSWIn this study, the self‑developed CSW Scale and CSSW Scale for adults were used. Both scales,
which have shown reliability and validity, consist of ﬁve factors: athletic competence, enthusiastic
activity, friendships, prosocial behavior, and appearance. Both scales were also created incorrespondence with one another. For example, the item “I am satisﬁed with myself when I can treat
people with compassion” on the CSW Scale corresponds to “I think I treat people with compassion”
on the CSSW Scale (Table 1). The responses to the CSW Scale were based on a six‑point scaleranging from 1 (not applicable at all) to 6 (very applicable), while the answers to the CSSW Scale
were based on a ﬁve‑point scale ranging from 1 (not applicable at all) to 5 (very applicable). Before
developing the scales for adults with ASD, one representative of the association of parents ofchildren and persons with developmental disabilities was asked to evaluate the contents, after which
the questionnaire items were modiﬁed based on the opinions.
2.3.3 Subjective well‑being
This study also used the Subjective Well‑Being Scale (Ito et al., 2003), based on the World Health─ 40 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1

Table 1 The Contingencies of Self‑Worth Scale and the Contentment of Sources of Self‑Worth Scale
The Contingencies of Self‑Worth Scale

The Contentment of Sources of Self‑Worth Scale

Athletic competence

Athletic competence88Have good motor skills is important to me

11

I get depressed when I donʼt achieve good 11
results in sports

I think I achieve good results in sports

14

Being good at sports makes me conﬁdent

I think I am good at sports

14

I think I have good motor skills

Enthusiastic activity

Enthusiastic activity

4

It is important for me to work on things thatinterest me

4

I think I am working on something I am
interested in

7

I am satisfied with myself because I havesomething to devote myself to7

I think I have something to devote myself to15

I feel confident when I am enthusiastic about 15
something I likeI think I am enthusiastic about what I like

Friendships

Friendships

2

If I donʼt have friends I can talk to about
anything, I donʼt feel conﬁdent about myself

2 I have friends with whom I can talk about
anything

5

I donʼt mind if I donʼt have good friends＊

5

13 It is important for me to have friends whom I 13
can trust

I donʼt think I have any good friends＊
I think I have friends I can trust

Prosocial behavior

Prosocial behavior

1

I feel conﬁdent when I can be kind to others

1

I think I am kind to people

3 I am satisfied with myself when I can treat
people with compassion

3

I think I treat people with compassion

10

10

I think I do things for others

Doing things for others is important to me

Appearance

Appearance

6

6

I think I have good looks

9

I think have a good ﬁgure (style)

Good looks is important to me

9 I lose self‑conﬁdence if I feel I have a bad bodyﬁgure (style)12

I am satisﬁed with myself if I think I have a cool 12(beautiful) face

I think I have a cool (or beautiful) faceNote. ＊Item was reversed scoring.

Organizationʼs Subjective Well‑Being Inventory (Sell and Nagpal, 1992). The adult version of thisscale consisted of one factor and 12 items, with demonstrated reliability and validity (Ito et al., 2003).
The answers were based on a four‑point scale, with higher scores indicating a higher subjective
well‑being.
2.4

Ethical considerations
For the adults with ASD, this study was conducted with the consent of the representative of theparent association and that of the individual. For the control group, we obtained the consent of eachparticipant. When conducting the survey, the author explained (in writing) that the survey would be
conducted based on the free will of the survey respondents, that there would be no disadvantage ifthey did not respond, and that privacy protection would be ensured. In addition, the research was─ 41 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1

Table 2 Contingencies of self‑worth, contentment of sources of self‑worth, and subjective well‑being ofadults with ASD and control group
Adults with ASD

Control groupMedian (interquartile range)

Median (interquartile range)

3. 33 (1. 33)

3. 67 (1. 42)

Contingencies of self‑worth
Athletic competence
Enthusiastic activity

5. 00 (1. 67)

0. 74

4. 00 (1. 75)

0. 04

0. 02

＊

0. 29

＊

0. 29

Friendships

4. 33 (1. 67)

3. 67 (0. 75)

0. 02

Prosocial behavior

4. 67 (1. 67)

4. 00 (2. 00)

0. 44

0. 09

Appearance

3. 67 (1. 33)

4. 00 (1. 08)

0. 78

0. 03

Contentment of sources of self‑worth
Athletic competence

2. 33 (1. 00)

2. 33 (1. 67)

0. 25

0. 14

Enthusiastic activity

4. 00 (1. 00)

3. 33 (1. 08)

0. 01＊＊

0. 32

†

0. 24

Friendships

3. 67 (1. 67)

3. 00 (1. 42)

0. 05

Prosocial behavior

3. 33 (1. 67)

3. 33 (1. 42)

0. 82

0. 03

Appearance

2. 33 (1. 67)

2. 50 (1. 33)

0. 19

0. 16

2. 42 (0. 83)

2. 67 (0. 75)

0. 53

0. 08

Subjective well‑being＊＊< . 01,＊< . 05,†< . 10.

Table 3 Spearmanʼs rank correlation coefficients for the sub‑factors of contingencies of self‑worth andsubjective well‑being
Contingencies of self‑worth
Athletic
Enthusiastic
Prosocial
Friendships
competence
activity
behavior
Adults with ASD
Control group＊＊

Subjective well‑being

‑. 35

‑. 03

. 05

. 48

. 08
＊＊

. 01

. 14
＊

. 33

Appearance
‑. 17
. 06

< . 01, ＊ < . 05.

conducted with the consent of the research ethics committee of the graduate school to which theauthor belongs (2022‑71A; June 9, 2022).
2.5

Analysis
SPSS (version 28) and Excel programs were used to analyze the statistics.

3.

Results

3.1

Basic statistics for each scale and the results of the Mann‑Whitney U test
The Mann‑Whitney U test was conducted on the scores of each scale for the adults with ASD
and the control group (Table 2). According to the results, the scores for “enthusiastic activity” ( <.05) and “friendships” ( < .05) in CSW were signiﬁcantly higher for the adults with ASD than for thecontrol group. CSSW was also signiﬁcantly higher for the adults with ASD than the control group in“enthusiastic activity” ( < .01). In addition, there was a signiﬁcant trend in the score for “friendships”( < .10) in CSSW and no signiﬁcant diﬀerence in subjective well‑being.

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Table 4 Spearmanʼs rank correlation coeﬃcients for the sub‑factors of contentment of sources of self‑worth
and subjective well‑being
Contentment of sources of self‑worth
Athletic
Enthusiastic
Prosocial
Friendships
competence
activity
behavior
Adults with ASD
Control group
＊＊

. 46＊

Subjective well‑being

. 16

. 49＊

. 24
＊＊

. 48

. 36

. 34

＊

Appearance
. 36

＊＊

. 40

. 17

< . 01, ＊ < . 05.

Table 5 Spearmanʼs rank correlation coefficients for the sub‑factors of contingencies of self‑worth andcontentment of sources of self‑worth

Adults with ASD
Control group＊＊< . 01,＊

Athletic
competence

Enthusiastic
activity

Friendships

Prosocial
behavior

Appearance‑. 05. 70＊＊

. 49＊

. 37

‑. 07

. 52＊＊. 73＊＊

. 25

. 74

＊＊

. 57

＊＊

< . 05.

3.2

Relationship between CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being
Spearmanʼs rank correlation coefficients were calculated for the sub‑factors of CSW andsubjective well‑being for the adults with ASD and the control group (Table 3). No significant
correlations were found for the sub‑factors of CSW among the adults with ASD. However, signiﬁcantcorrelations were found for “enthusiastic activity” ( = .48, < .01) and “prosocial behavior” ( = .33,<.05) in the control group.
Spearmanʼs rank correlation coeﬃcients were also calculated for the sub‑factors of CSSW andsubjective well‑being for the adults with ASD and the control group (Table 4). Significant
correlations were found for “athletic competence” ( = .46, < .05) and “friendships” ( = .49, < .05)
in CSSW among the adults with ASD. Meanwhile, significant correlations were found for“enthusiastic activity” ( = .48, < .01), “friendships” ( = .36, < .05), and “prosocial behavior” ( = .40,
< .01) in CSSW for the control group.
Finally, Spearmanʼs rank correlation coefficients were calculated between the corresponding
sub‑factors of CSW and CSSW (Table 5). According to the results, there were signiﬁcant correlations
for “enthusiastic activity” ( = .70, < .01) and “friendships” ( = .49, < .05) among the adults with
ASD. Significant correlations were found in “athletic competence” ( = .74, < .01), “enthusiastic
activity” ( = .57, < .01), “friendships” ( = .52, < .01), and “prosocial behavior” ( = .73, < .01) inthe control group.
3.3

Distribution of the scores for CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being
Figure 1 presents scatter plots for the sub‑factors of CSW and subjective well‑being for the
adults with ASD and the control group. Speciﬁcally, the scores for “enthusiastic activity” in CSW
ranged from 3 to 6 for the adults with ASD, whereas those for the control group ranged from 1 to 6.
The scatter plots of the sub‑factors of CSSW and subjective well‑being for the adults with ASD
and the control group are shown in Figure 2. For “athletic competence” in CSSW, the scores ranged
from 1 to 3 for the adults with ASD, whereas the scores ranged from 1 to 5 for the control group.

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4

3

2

1

4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

4

3

2

1

Figure 1 Scatter plots for the sub‑factors of contingencies of self‑worth and subjective well‑being●Adults with ASD ×Control group

4.

Discussion

In order to clarify the relationship between CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being of the adults
with ASD, we ﬁrst examined the relationship between CSW and CSSW (Table 5). Next, we focusedon the relationship between subjective well‑being and CSSW, by comparing the adults with ASD
and the control group. Moreover, we examined the relationship between subjective well‑being and
CSSW in more detail by focusing on CSW.
4.1

Relationship between CSW and CSSW
Upon examining the correlations between the factors in the CSW Scale and the CSSW Scale,there were significant correlations between “enthusiastic activity” and “friendships” in the adults
with ASD. However, no significant correlations were found for “athletic competence,” “prosocial
behavior,” and “appearance” among them. In the control group, except for “appearance,” there were─ 44 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1
4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1

4

3

2

1

Figure 2

Scatter Plots for the sub‑factors of contentment of sources of self‑worth and subjective well‑being●Adults with ASD ×Control group

signiﬁcant correlations between CSW and CSSW for “athletic competence,” “enthusiastic activity,”“friendships,” and “prosocial behavior.”
Given that CSW are related to motivation (Ohtani, 2012), it is thought that people are motivatedtoward objects with high CSW. Thus, CSSW toward objects with high CSW may be higher. In thisregard, Ito et al. (2013) found that the correlation coeﬃcients of the sub‑factors of CSW and CSSW
ranged from .20 to .57, showing a weak to moderately signiﬁcant correlation. In the present study,
moderately signiﬁcant correlations were found between CSW and CSSW for “enthusiastic activity”
and “friendships” among adults with ASD, which is similar to the ﬁndings of previous research (Ito etal., 2013).
Conversely, the reason why almost no correlation was found for “athletic competence” and“appearance” in the sub‑factors of CSW and CSSW among the adults with ASD may be due to thediﬃculty of increasing CSSW for “athletic competence” and “appearance.” Even if some people with
ASD have high “athletic competence” in CSW, and although they engage in physical activity, it may─ 45 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1

not necessarily increase “athletic competence.” In particular, adults with ASD have been noted tohave physical clumsiness. For example, in their meta‑analysis, Kimberly et al. (2010) noted that
impaired coordinated movement is a characteristic of ASD. The diﬃculty of individuals with ASD in
exercising may be one of the reasons for no correlation between the corresponding factor “athleticcompetence” of CSW and CSSW. Similarly, it may be that even if adults with ASD attempt toimprove their appearance when CSW is high, it does not necessarily lead to an increase in their“appearance.” This may be the reason why no correlation was found in “appearance” between thesub‑factors of CSW and CSSW.
4.2

The relationship between CSW, CSSW, and subjective well‑being: A comparison of high andlow
4.2.1 Athletic competence
The results of the correlation analysis showed that there is almost no relationship between“athletic competence” in CSW and subjective well‑being among the adults with ASD. However, thehigher the “athletic competence” in CSSW is, the higher subjective well‑being is. In the control
group, there was almost no relationship between CSW and CSSW in “athletic competence” andsubjective well‑being. In terms of “athletic competence” in the CSSW Scale, the better the adults
with ASD were at sports/athletics, the higher their subjective well‑being.
Benson et al. (2019) compared the time spent on physical activities among 15 adults with ASD,
whose mean age was 22.8 years. Based on their ﬁndings, the adults with ASD spent less time on
medium‑ and high‑intensity physical activities. These results suggest that adults with ASD tend to
spend less than half as much time on medium‑ and high‑intensity physical activities, compared totypically developing adults, and that such exercise may enhance their subjective well‑being. Hamm
and Yun (2018) also investigated the relationship between physical activities and self‑determination
theory among 143 adults with ASD, whose mean age was 25 years. As for self‑determination theory,humans have three basic psychological needs: 1) the need for competence; 2) the need for autonomy;
and 3) the need for relatedness (Ito, 2021). The results revealed that the higher the satisfaction of
three basic psychological needs in humans, the higher motivation for physical activity in adults with
ASD was (Hamm and Yun, 2018). Hence, when considering support for adults with ASD, it isimportant to make decisions according to these three aspects.
Furthermore, as individuals with ASD have been reported to have difficulties with exercise(Watahiki et al, 2020), some may not necessarily be motivated to exercise. Therefore, while providing
support to individuals with ASD in exercise, it may be necessary to consider their motivation forexercise and ensure that they are not compelled to exercise against their will.
4.2.2 Enthusiastic activity
Based on the results of the Mann‑Whitney U test, the adults with ASD had higher “enthusiastic
activity” in terms of CSW and CSSW, compared to the control group. In terms of this sub‑factor in
the CSW Scale, adults with ASD stated that it was important for them to be enthusiastic about theirinterests and felt conﬁdent when they engaged in something they liked. Such beliefs were higher
than those of the control group.
The results of the correlation analysis also showed that there was a minimal relationshipbetween “enthusiastic activity” and subjective well‑being in CSW among the adults with ASD. On
the other hand, in the control group, the higher “enthusiastic activity” of CSW was, the higher
subjective well‑being was. Moreover, the higher “enthusiastic activity” of CSSW was, the higher
subjective well‑being was.
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Kojima (2020) interviewed a sample of individuals with ASD, whose mean age was 19.8 years,
and asked about the source of their subjective well‑being. According to the ﬁndings, hobbies were
the source. In a related study, Grove et al. (2018) also investigated the actual situation of special
interests, and the relationship between special interests and a range of quality of life measuresamong 687 adults with ASD, whose mean age was 42.4 years. Note that Grove et al. (2018) deﬁne
special interests in the following way: “people on the autism spectrum often have extraordinary
intense or speciﬁc interests, this is what we refer to as a special interest in a topic.” Their results
showed that computers and music were relatively common interests for adults with ASD.
Furthermore, adults with ASD with speciﬁc interests had higher life satisfaction of leisure activities
than those without such interests. However, although the eﬀect sizes were not large, it was foundthat the more time spent in speciﬁc interests, the lower subjective well‑being.
Furthermore, Grove et al. (2018) investigated the relationship between special interest motivationand subjective well‑being of individuals with ASD with an average age of 42.4 years. Results
revealed that there was motivation for special interest that led to the subjective well‑being ofindividuals with ASD as well as motivation for special interest that did not lead to the subjective
well‑being. The higher the two factors of “personal life values and goals” and “engagement and ﬂow,”
the higher the subjective well‑being of participants with ASD tended to be.
The “personal life values and goals” factor included statements such as “I chose this special
interest because it allows me to reach my life goals” and “because it is a good way to learn lots ofthings that could be useful in other areas of my life” (Grove et al., 2016). The “engagement and ﬂow”
factor was “for the sense of sheer enjoyment I experience doing my special interest,” “because I likethe feeling of being totally immersed in my special interest,” etc. (Grove et al., 2016).
In light of the above, one possible background factor for the lack of a signiﬁcant relationshipbetween subjective well‑being and “enthusiastic activity” in CSSW for individuals with ASD may be
the presence of motivation to engage in things that are interesting to them. It is possible that“personal life values and goals” and “engagement and flow” were not very high in motivating
individuals with ASD, who are targeted in this study to engage in activities that they are interested
in. When providing support for the “enthusiastic activity” in CSSW for individuals with ASD, it may
be eﬀective to provide support based on the motivations of the particular interests of individuals
with ASD.
4.2.3 Friendships
Based on the results of the Mann‑Whitney U test, “friendships” were higher among the adults
with ASD, compared to the control group. Based on “friendships” in the CSW Scale, the adults with
ASD believed that having a trusted friend is important and that they felt more confident inthemselves by having a friend they could talk to about anything, compared to the control group. In
addition, adults with ASD felt that they had trusted friends, compared to the control group.
In related research, Baron‑Cohen and Simon (2003) conducted a direct‑response questionnaire
survey of the friendships among 68 people with ASD (without intellectual disabilities) and typicallydeveloping people, with a mean age of 34.3 years. Their results showed that the friendships of adults
with ASD were negative than those of typically developing people. The results showed that thefriendships of people with ASD were signiﬁcantly lower than the control group, which is at variancewith the results of the present study. Although the present study did not identify a clear reason forthis discrepancy, one possible reason is the individual diﬀerences in the friendships among the adults
with ASD. Their study also indicated that the higher the autism spectrum index, the worse thefriendships (Baron‑Cohen and Simon, 2003), which is, again, possibly due to the individual diﬀerences─ 47 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1

in such friendships.
The results of the correlation analysis indicated that there is a minimal relationship between“friendships” in CSW and subjective well‑being among adults with ASD. However, the greater“friendships” in CSSW are, the higher subjective well‑being is. Kojima (2020) interviewed a sample ofpeople with ASD, whose mean age was 19.8 years, and asked about the source of their subjective
well‑being. Based on the ﬁndings, a number of adults with ASD indicated that the source of theirsubjective well‑being was friends. Speciﬁcally, responses such as “I feel happy when I am talking to
my friends” were found, supporting the results of this study.
Conversely, some adults with ASD reported a minimal relationship between friends andsubjective well‑being. In this regard, Mazurek (2014) investigated the relationship between thenumber and quality of friends and subjective well‑being among adults with ASD aged 18 to 62 years(mean age: 32.4 years), and found that there was a minimal relationship between the number andquality of friends and subjective well‑being.
Possible reasons for this contradictory result can be discussed in terms of the age in life and theinﬂuence of the scale. First, regarding the age in life, the ages of the 19 adults with ASD in thisstudy ranged from 20 to 57 years, with a mean age of 27.2 years (= 8.2). In Mazurekʼs (2014)
study, the adults with ASD ranged in age from 18 to 62 years, with a mean age of 32.4 years (=12.5). Since this was not signiﬁcantly diﬀerent from our studyʼs sample, age was not a factor.
As for the influence of the scale used in Mazurekʼs (2014) study, i.e., the Unidimensional
Relationship Closeness Scale (Dibble et al., 2011), it measures the degree of intimacy between the self
and a speciﬁc attribute such as “friends” or “families.” In this regard, Mazurek (2014) placed “friends”
for the question item in the scale (Dibble et al., 2011) to measure the quality of friends and the degreeof intimacy between friends and the self. There are several questions about how they perceive
friends in various situations in the Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale. Conversely, the“friendships” questions in this study were relatively simple and did not specifically ask how one
perceives friends in various situations/settings. Thus, it is possible that the diﬀerence in the content
of the question items regarding friends was one of the reasons for the inconsistent result.
®
The PEERS (Program for Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) is a program that canbe used as a reference for individuals with ASD in enhancing “friendships” in CSSW. PEERS®,
developed at the University of California in Los Angeles, is a program for making friends tailored tothe characteristics of ASD (Tanaka & Yamada, 2020). The PEERS® has already been implemented in
more than 125 countries (Itani et al., 2022), and there have been significant improvements incommunication (Yamada et al., 2020) and increased self‑esteem (Schiltz et al., 2018). In other words,
PEERS® may be eﬀective in increasing self‑esteem by enhancing the “friendships” of individuals with
ASD in CSSW, and consequently, in increasing their subjective well‑being.
4.2.4 Prosocial behavior
According to the results of the correlation analysis, there was no signiﬁcant diﬀerence between“prosocial behavior” and subjective well‑being in CSW among the adults with ASD, nor was there asigniﬁcant diﬀerence between “prosocial behavior” and subjective well‑being in CSSW. Feng andZhang (2021) examined 1,106 adults aged 30 to 60 years, with a mean age of 37.06 years. They foundthat “prosocial behavior” had a positive eﬀect on subjective well‑being, supporting the results of thecontrol group in the present study. Hence, it can be concluded that the higher “prosocial behavior,”
the higher subjective well‑being of the control group.
Regarding the correlation coeﬃcient between “prosocial behavior” and subjective well‑being interms of eﬀect size, the coeﬃcient of CSSW was .40 for the control group, while the coeﬃcient was─ 48 ─

Journal of Developmental Disabilities Research No. 1.34 for the adults with ASD. Therefore, there was no major diﬀerence in eﬀect size, and that therelationship between “prosocial behavior” in CSSW and subjective well‑being of both the adults with
ASD and the control group were generally comparable.
4.2.5 Appearance
The results of the correlational analysis showed that there was a minimal relationship between“appearance” in CSW and CSSW and subjective well‑being, for adults with ASD. These aspects weresimilar to those of the control group. Diener et al. (1995) examined the relationship between
subjective physical attractiveness and subjective well‑being among 221 college students and found asignificant weak correlation of .29. In the present study, the correlation coefficient between“appearance” and subjective well‑being in CSSW for the adults with ASD was not signiﬁcant, but
remained weak at .36. This suggests that this relationship was generally comparable to that of thecontrol group.

5.

Limitation and future research recommendations

One limitation of this study is that the adults with ASD were those whose parents/guardians
belonged to parent associations for children and youth with developmental disabilities. It is assumed
that such parents are more motivated to obtain information on childrearing. Therefore, it is possiblethat many of the adults with ASD were more likely to receive the necessary social support, thus
having fewer challenges in everyday life.
Note

＊1

Although Ito et al. (2011). used the term “contentment of sources of self‑esteem,” we used
the term “contentment of sources of self‑worth” to correspond with the term “contingencies
of self‑worth,” which is commonly used as an academic term in Japan and abroad.
Additionally, the term “self‑worth” is used synonymously with the deﬁnition of “self‑esteem”(Endo, 2013).

Acknowledgments
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to people for their cooperation in this survey.
Funding
This study was supported by the Grant‑in‑Aid for the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science Fellows (JP22J10309).

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