Elevated Self-Rated Intellectual Ability Among Biological Parents of Autistic Individuals

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Abstract

We conducted an online survey asking biological parents of autistic individuals to self-assess their intellectual ability by ranking themselves in one of five quintiles: 1st-20th percentile, 21st-40th percentile, 41st-60th percentile, 61st-80th percentile, and 81st-100th percentile. A flyer containing a QR code linked to the questionnaire was distributed to organizations, centers, and clinics supporting autistic individuals and their families. A total of 30 responses were collected, with 3 excluded due to irrelevance (as they described the autistic individuals rather than the biological parents). Of the 27 valid responses, 16 respondents placed themselves in the 81st-100th percentile, 9 in the 61st-80th percentile, 1 in the 41st-60th percentile, and 1 in the 21st-40th percentile. Given an assumed equal distribution across quintiles in the general population (20% each), 59.3% of respondents rated themselves in the highest quintile, and 92.6% rated themselves in the top two quintiles. A chi-square goodness-of-fit test confirmed that the observed distribution deviates significantly from the expected values (χ2 = 35.78, p = 3.21 × 10-7). Linear regression analysis also demonstrated a statistically significant upward trend across quintiles (R2 = 0.828; F = 14.46, p = 0.032). We conclude that biological parents of autistic individuals self-report significantly higher intellectual ability than expected in the general population.

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MLA

Dong, Sophia, et al. “Elevated Self-Rated Intellectual Ability Among Biological Parents of Autistic Individuals.” Journal of Secondary and Undergraduate Research, vol. 2, no. 1, 2024

APA

Dong, S., Liu, C., Wang, D., Shu, A., Wei, E., Mei, R., Liang, K., Chen, Z., Xie, J., Yu, A., Chen, A., Kung, E., Zhang, L., Zhang, S., Li, L., Zhang, A., Ye, F. (2024). Elevated Self-Rated Intellectual Ability Among Biological Parents of Autistic Individuals. Journal of Secondary and Undergraduate Research, 2(1)

Chicago

Dong, Sophia, et al. “Elevated Self-Rated Intellectual Ability Among Biological Parents of Autistic Individuals.” Journal of Secondary and Undergraduate Research 2, no. 1 (2024).