Adaptation and Feasibility of the Mandarin Version of PEERS® for Autistic Adolescents

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Lao, U., Li, Y., Bai, W., Wang, Y., Li, Y., Xie, Y., Huang, X., Zhu, H., & Zou, X. (2023). Adaptation and Feasibility of the Mandarin Version of PEERS® for Autistic Adolescents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(9), 3387-3399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06056-w

Publication date: 22 Jul 2023 Added to AutiHub: 22 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 9 (11.1%)

Abstract

PURPOSE: The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a group-based social skills training program for adolescents on the autism spectrum. Although the program has been shown to be effective in improving social skills in autistic adolescents, evidence of its effectiveness from the Mandarin-speaking Chinese population is sparse. The present study used a non-randomized, pre- and post-intervention research design to investigate the feasibility and cultural validity of the program, as well as examine the moderators of intervention outcomes. METHODS: Thirty-three autistic adolescents with intelligence quotient above 70 (Mage = 13.57, SDage = 1.43; Male: Female 25:8) and their parents received 14 concurrent 90-minute sessions. Adolescents' autistic traits, challenging behaviors, emotional functioning, socio-cognitive process, social environment factors (school support), and caregivers' well-being were evaluated. RESULTS: The findings suggest that with minor adjustments, the Mandarin version of PEERS® was generally acceptable and feasible for autistic adolescents and their parents. PEERS® may improve the social skills knowledge, reciprocal communication abilities, and emotional well-being of autistic adolescents. Also, participants with a higher level of school support, and parents with lower perceived subjective well-being at baseline may gain more benefits from PEERS®. The cultural adaptation and acceptability of the Mandarin Version of PEERS® were discussed. CONCLUSION: This feasibility study (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2200061417, 2022-06-23, retrospectively registered) provides a basis for further randomized control trials of the Mandarin version of PEERS®.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 07:58.

Cited references
52
With a DOI
47
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
0 / 52 (0.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 52 (11.5%)
References with detected author names
50 / 52 (96.2%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
6
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
228
From DOI or external metadata
228
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
29 / 228 (12.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 199 / 228 (87.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
0 / 228 (0.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 0 / 29 (0.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 0 / 217 (0.0%).
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