Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38884888›Full record

ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026

Efficacy of Community-Delivered PEERS® for Adolescents: Increases in Social Skills and Decreases in Social Anxiety and Loneliness.

China I Parenteau, Jessica Floyd, Katy Ankenman, Tara Glavin, Julia Charalel, Enjey Lin, Whitney Ence, Young Shin Kim, Somer Bishop, Shuting Zheng

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

China I ParenteauDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Jessica FloydDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Katy AnkenmanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Tara GlavinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Julia CharalelDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Enjey LinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Whitney EnceDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Young Shin KimDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Somer BishopDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
Shuting ZhengDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, 675 18th St., San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA. Shuting.zheng@ucsf.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0821-2716

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePEERS® for Adolescents is an evidence-based social skills training program developed for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is now widely implemented by community providers in clinics and schools. However, majority of past efficacy studies on PEERS® were conducted in controlled research settings, with limited information about its effectiveness when delivered in the community. We sought to examine the effects of PEERS® on social functioning and mental health outcomes when delivered in an outpatient autism specialty clinic.

methodsClinical data from 45 adolescents with social challenges (age range: 11-18 years old; 31.1% female assigned at birth) were extracted for secondary analyses. Paired t-tests were performed to examine the pre- to post-intervention changes in social and mental health outcomes. Correlations between pre- and post-change scores of outcome measures were examined.

resultsSelf-reported social skills knowledge, caregiver-reported social skills (measured by the Social Skills Improvement Systems) and the number of get-togethers hosted, increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention. Additionally, caregiver-reported anxiety and self-reported loneliness significantly decreased from pre- to post-intervention. Exploratory analyses showed that increases in caregiver-reported social skills were associated with decreases in self-reported loneliness.

conclusionsOur findings provide evidence supporting the efficacy of PEERS® for improving social knowledge and skills of adolescents with social challenges when delivered in the community. The current study also showed the potential benefit of PEERS® for improving adolescent mental health.

Indexed as

AnxietyAutism Spectrum DisorderLonelinessSocial SkillsAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMalePeer GroupTreatment OutcomeCommunity-delivered interventionMental healthPEERS® for AdolescentsSocial skills training

Identifiers

PMID38884888

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.