Current functioning of young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in childhood and depression and burnout among their parents in Türkiye

We aimed to evaluate the current functioning of young Turkish adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosed in childhood and determine parental depression and burnout levels. Factors associated with current functioning and parental depression were also evaluated. This study was conducted at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of 61 cities in Turkey. Young adults with ASD and their parents were enrolled. 1500 participants (81.5%, n = 1222 males) with a median age of 21.0 (IQR = 4.0) years were included in the present study. Most participants were high school graduates, and only 1 in 10 was able to work for some time at a job. 8.3%could travel alone between cities, 3.7% had experience of romantic relationships, and only sixty-one of them were able to obtain a driving license and use motor vehicles. The mean depression and overall burnout scores of mothers were significantly higher than those of fathers. Young adults with ASD and their parents may experience elevated stress during the transition to adult services. Therefore, there is an urgent need for further studies to identify these needs.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2026-09-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64419-6
Primary Topic
Family and Disability Support Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
article

Current functioning of young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in childhood and depression and burnout among their parents in Türkiye

Bahtım Kütük, Burcu Kardaş, Perihan Çam Ray, Neslihan İnal et al.
Scientific Reports
Family and Disability Support Research
article

Current functioning of young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in childhood and depression and burnout among their parents in Türkiye

Bahtım Kütük, Burcu Kardaş, Perihan Çam Ray, Neslihan İnal, Gülen Güler Aksu, Çağla Çelikkol Sadıç, Alperen Bıkmazer, Serkan Turan, Cem Gökçen, Seyma Celikcan Yesilmese, Gülsüm Yitik Tonkaz, Hasan Cem Aykutlu, Abdullah Bozkurt, Aziz Kara, Zeynep Vatansever Pınar, Günay Budagova, Huseyin Yenice, Fethiye Kılıçaslan, Ayşegül Yolga Tahiroğlu, Esma Nur Pamuk, Canem Kavurma, İrem Damla Çimen, Fadime Hande Ozer, Cansu Çobanoğlu Osmanlı, Leyla Seviçin, Fevziye Toros, Mehmet Akif Akıncı, Sevay Alşen Güney, Esra Hoşoğlu, Bahaddin Çolak, Bedia Sultan Önal, Ali Evren Tufan, Ferhat Yaylacı, Caner Mutlu, Aynur Görmez, Yekta Özkan, Nagihan Cevher Binici, Elif Abanoz, Onur Burak Dursun, Cansu Mercan Işık, Yasemin Hoşgören Alıcı, Funda Özyay Eroğlu, Ahmet Büber, Berkan Şahin, Sibelnur Avcıl, Neslihan Taştepe, Barış Güller, Bahadır Turan, Aylin Yilmaz, Burçin Şeyda Buran, Hande Ayraler Taner, Vahdet Görmez, Leyla Bozatlı, Yüksel Sümeyra Naralan, Müjdat Erarkadaş, Adem TÜRK, Çisem Erdaş, Ayla Cicek, Mehmet Hamid Boztaş, Hasan Kandemir, Burak Kamış, Şeyma İlhan, Yadigar Düğüncü Terlemez, Ceylan Carık, Öznur Adıgüzel Akman, Pinar Vural, ŞAFAK ERAY ÇAMLI, cilem bilginer, Gonca Özyurt, Tuba Mutluer, Yasemin İmrek, Ömer Kardaş, Rabia Can, Masum Öztürk, Mehmet Karadağ, Özlem Yıldız Gündoğdu, Ayşe Kutlu, Tuğba Nur Saylan Yavuz, Fatma Sibel Durak, Tilbe Erten Almak, Rezan Karabulut Kılıç, Hatice Altun, Sevgi Özmen, Şermin Yalın Sapmaz, Öznur Bilaç, Enes Şamdan, Ömer Akça, Meryem Özlem Kütük, Eren Yavuz Açıkalın, Işık Görker, Esra Demirci, Oğuzhan Koyuncu, Veysel Özdağ, Zehra Hangül, Rahime Mutlu Yaprakçı, Fatma Subaşı Turgut, Gonca Gül Çelik, Onur Tuğçe Poyraz Fındık, Mehrişah Usta, Esen Yıldırım Demirdöğen
article en

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the current functioning of young Turkish adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosed in childhood and determine parental depression and burnout levels. Factors associated with current functioning and parental depression were also evaluated. This study was conducted at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of 61 cities in Turkey. Young adults with ASD and their parents were enrolled. 1500 participants (81.5%, n = 1222 males) with a median age of 21.0 (IQR = 4.0) years were included in the present study. Most participants were high school graduates, and only 1 in 10 was able to work for some time at a job. 8.3%could travel alone between cities, 3.7% had experience of romantic relationships, and only sixty-one of them were able to obtain a driving license and use motor vehicles. The mean depression and overall burnout scores of mothers were significantly higher than those of fathers. Young adults with ASD and their parents may experience elevated stress during the transition to adult services. Therefore, there is an urgent need for further studies to identify these needs.

Scientific Reports
Dicle University (TR), Trakya University (TR), Toros University (TR), Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi (TR), Ministry of Health (TR), Bursa Uludağ Üni̇versi̇tesi̇ (TR), Koç University (TR), Giresun University (TR), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University (TR), Karadeniz Technical University (TR), Manisa Celal Bayar University (TR), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (US), Başkent University (TR), Dokuz Eylül University (TR), Izmir Kâtip Çelebi University (TR), State Hospital (GB), Çağ University (TR), Ege University (TR), Dr. Behçet Uz Çocuk Hastalıkları Hastanesi (TR), Ankara Atatürk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR), Dr Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR), Biruni University (TR), Necmettin Erbakan University (TR), Kayseri Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR), Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi (TR), Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health (CA), Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf University (TR), Hasan Kalyoncu University (TR), Fatih Sultan Mehmet Eğitim Ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR), Afyonkarahisar Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University (TR), Pamukkale University (TR), Mersin Üniversitesi (TR), Kocaeli Üniversitesi (TR), Afyon Kocatepe University (TR), Cukurova University (TR), Istanbul Medeniyet University (TR), Gaziantep University (TR), Atatürk University (TR), Istanbul University (TR), Adnan Menderes University (TR), Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University (TR), Harran University (TR), Erciyes University (TR)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Family and Disability Support Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.