Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental and neurological disorder characterized by difficulties in communication and social domains. Previous research highlights that involvement in organized community activity has shown to have positive effects on social and emotional adjustment in youths (Bohnert et al., 2019). Meeting early language milestones strongly indicates positive language development in individuals with ASD. Better early language development may foster interactions with peers, promote a sense of belonging, and may make it easier for parents and children with ASD to participate in community activities. 
This study explores the relationship between early language milestones (age at first words, age at 3-word phrases), current social milestones and current language level. 105 youth (f=42; m=63), ages 8-17 years with from the ACE GENDAAR network, a four-site NIH funded project investigating gender differences in children with ASD, were included in the study. ASD diagnosis was confirmed via standardized measures of autism symptoms (ADOS-2, ADI). All included participants completed the DAS-II to measure cognitive skills, with a score of ≥70 on the Verbal domain. Parents completed the ACE medical history and ADI, which assessed early language milestones. Parents also completed the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and rated their child’s activity involvement in sports, hobbies and group organizations and completed a measure of social adaptive skills. We hypothesize that there will be a positive correlation between meeting early language milestones, social involvement, and language development in children with ASD. That is, children with better early language, will have better later language, better adaptive skills, and will be more likely to participate in community activity. This study may help us learn more about the implications of early language development in children with ASD and how it impacts later abilities to participate in the community.     

Ability has long been an attributed reason as to why certain groups of people are more represented in some STEM fields than others. However, ability is likely not the only factor influencing group representation. In fact, there is an increasing body of literature describing how interest levels may have a larger impact on representation in STEM. The current study used a minimal groups design to investigate how individuals perceive interest and ability between two made up groups (Omes and Veps) as they relate to various STEM fields. This study collected data from University of Washington undergraduate students (N=100) and was administered through an online survey. Participants read one of two made up articles. One article discussed the Omes and Veps as having equal ability by showing equal scores on a standard test in Chemistry or Biology, while the other article portrayed an ability gap between the two groups by showing a lower score for the Veps. In both conditions, the Veps’ significant underrepresentation in the presented field was emphasized. Participants then answered a series of questions to access their opinions about interest and ability relating to the respective field. We predict that participants in the ability gap condition will report both groups as having equal interest in the field. We also predict that participants in the equal ability condition will report the Veps as less interested. Implications of expected findings could be used to explore potential mechanisms explaining unequal gender representation in STEM fields.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by having persistent deficits in social interactions, as well as social communication impairments with restricted, repetitive behaviors. Past researchers have found that another characteristic of individuals with ASD tends to be higher rates of aggression compared to other developmental disabilities; a research study found that 68% of individuals with ASD in a sample of 1,380 children had a history of directed aggression. Due to the variety of measures that have been utilized to define aggression, there is a large amount of unexplored variability in the relationship between ASD and aggression. Social awareness is defined as an individual’s ability to cognitively understand reactions to different social situations and effectively modify these reactions to achieve beneficial social communication. Past research has found a strong correlation between high social responsiveness and low aggression, but this has not been widely studied in a population with ASD. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between decreased social awareness and rate and type of displayed aggressive behavior.150 children, aged 8-11 years participated in the study, focusing on late elementary school. All participants met the Autism diagnostic criteria on the ADOS-2, a child-clinician interaction that measures a child’s social, repetitive behaviors and communication skills. Parents completed the Social Responsiveness Scale, which includes scales of social awareness and cognition, as well as standardized measures of aggression. We expect to see a negative correlation between the rate of aggression and social awareness such that children with ASD who are reported as lower in social awareness will have higher reports of aggression. This research will help to understand why aggression rates are high in this population and may inform social skills and school based interventions for children with autism aggressive behaviors.

College student hazardous drinking (HD) poses a significant public health concern, including high risks of drinking and driving, physical impairment, and alcohol-related deaths. After college, most graduates decrease HD; however, a smaller subset does not, possibly due to stressors, including financial concerns. Previous research has found that lower income trajectory in young-adulthood is related to future alcohol dependency, highlighting the connection between HD and financial difficulties. The current generation of U.S. college students and recent graduates bears the highest student loan burden history, raising the question of whether this burden could affect the natural transition out of HD. However, this relation has not been investigated. The current study evaluates this relationship using data from a larger study that examined cognitive and social predictors of HD. The larger study followed 422 college graduates with a history of HD for two years following graduation. Participants completed eight online surveys at four month intervals. The current study used data from the first and eighth time points, including T1 and T8 responses to measures of alcohol use disorder (AUD) risk, typical alcohol consumption and number of heavy drinking episodes (4/5 drinks for women/men), and T8 self-reported student loan burden. Participants with loans reported consuming significantly more alcohol than individuals without loans. After controlling for T1 AUD risk scores and gender, students with higher loan burden were more likely to have higher T8 AUD risk scores. This pattern did not extend to alcohol consumption or the number of heavy drinking episodes. These findings provide some evidence that student loan burden may be a risk factor for continued HD in young adults post-graduation. Future research should explore whether interventions aimed at reducing stress related to student loan debt or providing education about managing financial debt could reduce HD in college graduates.

 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs an individual’s social, communication, and behavioral skills. These impairments can significantly impact an individual’s mental health. Puberty is a period in an adolescent’s life when they experience physical, social, and emotional changes. Adolescents are also especially vulnerable to these changes due to the potential disjunction of physical and cognitive systems maturing at different rates. Unfortunately, little is known about the effect of pubertal development on the mental health of individuals with ASD. The goal of this study was to investigate patterns in anxiety and depression rates across individuals with ASD during the stages of puberty. The study included children between the ages of 8 and 17 with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD via standardized measures of autism symptoms (ADOS-2 and ADI). Participants or their parents completed the Pubertal Developmental Scale (PDS) which asked seven sex-specific questions and provided a score of the child's physical progression through puberty. Parents also completed the Subject Medical History Form, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Child & Adolescent Symptom Inventory-5 (CASI-5), a self-report questionnaire to identify signs of psychiatric disorders. We explored the relationship between states of pubertal development and prevalence of anxiety and depression between pubertal groups (pre/early/mid/late/post). We expected to find an increase in anxiety and depression rates in adolescents and individuals who are in the early-post stages of puberty relative to those who are pre-puberty. Additionally, we compared rates of anxiety and depression of children with ASD to their siblings as an environmental control. We expected anxiety and depression rates to be higher in children with ASD compared to their siblings. Investigating the relationship between pubertal development and anxiety and depression can help us better understand risks for mental health concerns in children on the autism spectrum.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder characterized by social and communicative impairments. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, particularly those who are older, display internalizing behaviors more frequently than typically developing children. These behaviors are mainly characterized by negative feelings and occur at higher rates in females than males in children with ASD, however, the specific rates in each subgroup, such as anxiety, depression, or somatic complaints are less understood. This study will aim to explore the gender differences and the impact of the following factors on internalizing behaviors in children with ASD: (1) Participant medication use (for behavioral issues), (2) symptoms of depression/anxiety in parents of participants, (3) environmental factors such as family composition and household income. 161 participants, aged 8-18 (90 boys, 71 girls) from the ACE GENDAAR network, a four site NIH funded project investigating gender differences in children with ASD, were included in the study. Additionally, all participants met ASD criteria on ADOS-2 and via the ADI-R. Parents of participants completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), answering questions about their child’s internalizing behaviors. Parents also completed the ACE Medical History (medication use) and the ACE Demographics (environmental factors) questionnaires. We hypothesize that girls with ASD will score higher (worse) across all internalizing behavior symptom categories. We also expect to see correlations between the use of medication by participants, depression/anxiety reported in parents of participants and internalizing behavior symptoms. The data from this study will not only improve our understanding of specific internalizing behaviors associated with girls and boys with ASD but will also provide insight into the effects of various medical and environmental factors affecting children with ASD.

Thinking that women are very similar to or very different from men may affect how we judge masculine work cultures and whether women fit well in such places. In study 1, participants (N= 703) primed with gender-similarities showed that women would fit relatively well in a very masculine work culture compared to those primed with gender-differences. Then in study 2, we used the minimal group paradigm to test whether thinking about group-similarities would affect how much people perceive a non-inclusive culture to be problematic. Compared to participants primed with group differences participants primed with group similarities considered the non-inclusive company's culture significantly less problematic. A mediation analysis showed that the perceived fit (for the low-status group) mediates the relationship between similarity beliefs and judgments about the culture. Using the minimal group paradigm as a proxy for gender, this research suggests that thinking about gender-similarities can make people consider masculine work cultures to be less problematic for women. In study 3, we test whether perceived gender similarities for employees in the company will affect how people judge the culture to be problematic for women and people’s support for culture changes. We predict that participants who read the perceived gender similarities will rate the culture to be less problematic and show less support. The potential findings will generate meaningful insights into creating more welcoming work space for different genders in the real world.