Sun, Sep 21, 2025
| فارسی
Ethics code: IR.UMA.REC.1403.052
1- University of Mohaghegh Ardabili
Abstract: (27 Views)
Introduction: High autistic traits in adolescents are associated with a wide range of detrimental educational and social outcomes. Thus, identifying the influencing factors is of significance. This study investigated the relationship between facial emotion recognition and subclinical autism spectrum symptoms, considering the moderating role of executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory).
Methods: This descriptive and correlational study used the structural equation modeling method (SEM). The statistical population included all 12th-grade students in public schools (male and female) in Tehran during the 2023-2024 academic year. Through multi-stage cluster random sampling, 280 students (151 girls and 129 boys) were selected. The research tools included the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the Ekman 60-Faces Test, and computerized versions of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Stroop test, and the Daneman and Carpenter's Working Memory Task. Data were analyzed using advanced statistical methods for structural equation modeling in Smart PLS 3 software.
Results: The results indicated that facial emotion recognition had a significant effect on subclinical autism spectrum symptoms (t=2.211, β=−0.324). Among executive functions, only cognitive flexibility significantly influenced subclinical autism spectrum symptoms (t=2.958, β=0.367). Additionally, regarding the moderating role of executive functions, the findings revealed that cognitive flexibility (t=2.174, β=0.317) and inhibition (t=1.975, β=0.212) moderated the relationship between facial emotion recognition and subclinical autism spectrum symptoms.
Conclusion: The results showed that domains of executive functioning (cognitive flexibility and inhibition) play a partial moderating role in the relationship between facial emotion recognition and subclinical autistic symptoms. Based on these findings, it is recommended that psychotherapists give serious consideration to the role of cognitive functions in the educational and therapeutic interventions for adolescents with subclinical autistic traits.
Methods: This descriptive and correlational study used the structural equation modeling method (SEM). The statistical population included all 12th-grade students in public schools (male and female) in Tehran during the 2023-2024 academic year. Through multi-stage cluster random sampling, 280 students (151 girls and 129 boys) were selected. The research tools included the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the Ekman 60-Faces Test, and computerized versions of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Stroop test, and the Daneman and Carpenter's Working Memory Task. Data were analyzed using advanced statistical methods for structural equation modeling in Smart PLS 3 software.
Results: The results indicated that facial emotion recognition had a significant effect on subclinical autism spectrum symptoms (t=2.211, β=−0.324). Among executive functions, only cognitive flexibility significantly influenced subclinical autism spectrum symptoms (t=2.958, β=0.367). Additionally, regarding the moderating role of executive functions, the findings revealed that cognitive flexibility (t=2.174, β=0.317) and inhibition (t=1.975, β=0.212) moderated the relationship between facial emotion recognition and subclinical autism spectrum symptoms.
Conclusion: The results showed that domains of executive functioning (cognitive flexibility and inhibition) play a partial moderating role in the relationship between facial emotion recognition and subclinical autistic symptoms. Based on these findings, it is recommended that psychotherapists give serious consideration to the role of cognitive functions in the educational and therapeutic interventions for adolescents with subclinical autistic traits.
Keywords: Cognitive flexibility, Facial emotion recognition, Inhibition, Subclinical autism spectrum symptoms, Working memory
Type of Study: Research |
Received: 2024/12/10 | Accepted: 2025/09/21
Received: 2024/12/10 | Accepted: 2025/09/21
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
