Individual Differences in the “Cognitive–Adaptive Gap” Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Latent Profile Analysis of the Moderating Role of Family Environment

This study investigates the “competence–performance gap” between cognitive ability (measured by the WISC-IV) and actual adaptive performance (measured by the ABAS-II) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and examines the moderating role of family environment, specifically parental education levels. We applied Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to cross-sectional data from 3246 children with ASD (aged 6–16 years). The analysis identified three distinct cognitive–adaptive subgroups: the Balanced High-Functioning group (33%), the Classic Mismatch group (44%), and the Cognitively Vulnerable group (23%). Notably, the Classic Mismatch group was characterized by adaptive performance that significantly trailed cognitive potential. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that maternal education—but not paternal education—significantly predicted a child’s likelihood of being in the “Balanced High-Functioning” group. This moderating effect was especially pronounced during the school-age years. These findings highlight the critical role of environmental factors in the translation of intellectual potential into practical social adaptive functioning, providing theoretical support for targeted family-based interventions.