Difficulties In Social Interaction Research Articles

How does a ‘Jewellery Club’ adaptation of the Lego Therapy intervention impact on social anxiety and interactions between girls aged 7 with social communication interaction difficulties?

AbstractThis study investigated the impact of a ‘Jewellery Club’ on girls with social, communication and interaction difficulties. The project focussed on three girls aged seven who participated in an intervention using similar principles to the ‘Lego Therapy’ intervention. An action research approach was followed, where two phases of the intervention were undertaken with participants engaging with a weekly 20 min session for 3 weeks per phase. The impact of the intervention was assessed through the use of a social difficulties log, field notes and unstructured interviews with parents. Findings identified an overall reduction in social difficulties and social anxiety related to school as well as improved play experiences for the participants during unstructured school times and highlighted the importance of the intervention being aligned with the interests of the participants. The findings suggest that reflection on the gendered nature of interventions may be useful when considering how research might be implemented in practice.

Real-time facial emotion recognition model based on kernel autoencoder and convolutional neural network for autism children

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by abnormalities in the brain, leading to difficulties in social interaction and communication, as well as learning and attention. Early diagnosis of ASD is challenging as it mainly relies on detecting abnormalities in brain function, which may not be evident in the early stages of the disorder. Facial expression analysis has shown promise as an alternative and efficient solution for early diagnosis of ASD, as children with ASD often exhibit distinctive patterns that differentiate them from typically developing children. Assistive technology has emerged as a crucial tool in improving the quality of life for individuals with ASD. In this study, we developed a real-time emotion identification system to detect the emotions of autistic children in case of pain or anger. The emotion recognition system consists of three stages: face identification, facial feature extraction, and feature categorization. The proposed system can detect six facial emotions: anger, fear, joy, natural, sadness, and surprise. To achieve high-performance accuracy in classifying the input image efficiently, we proposed a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) architecture for facial expression recognition. An autoencoder was used for feature extraction and feature selection, and a pre-trained model (ResNet, MobileNet, and Xception) was applied due to the size of the dataset. The Xception model achieved the highest performance, with an accuracy of 0.9523%, sensitivity of 0.932, specificity of 0.9421, and AUC of 0.9134%. The proposed emotion detection framework leverages fog and IoT technologies to reduce latency for real-time detection with fast response and location awareness. Using fog computing is particularly useful when dealing with big data. Our study demonstrates the potential of using facial expression analysis and deep learning algorithms for real-time emotion recognition in autistic children, providing medical experts and families with a valuable tool for improving the quality of life for individuals with ASD.

Causes, Symptoms and Treatments for Autism: Literature Review

In the past few years, there has been critical advance in understanding the causes, symptoms, and medications for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This literature review aims to summarize the current understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by examining various studies and research conducted in recent years. This review will focus on the causes, effects, different symptoms, and solutions for individuals that suffer from autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The patients often experience a wide range of effects that impact their social communication, behavior, and sensory processing. Difficulties in social interaction, communication challenges, repetitive behaviors, and sensory sensitivities are common characteristics of ASD. These effects can vary in severity and manifestation from person to person, highlighting the heterogeneous nature of the disorder.Genetic factors play a significant part, with certain gene mutations and varieties contributing to the development of ASD. Moreover, natural components and pre-birth complications are also related with higher risks of ASD.The paper discusses the implications of these findings in refining our understanding of autism and ultimately developing improved interventions and support mechanisms for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Genetic underpinnings of the sex bias in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment condition featuring difficulties in social interaction and communication. ASD is also well-known for its sex bias, in which males are diagnosed approximately four times more frequently than females. Although recent sequencing studies have identified a genetic etiology of ASD, the sex bias in ASD still remains largely unexplained because the frequencies of autosomal ASD-associated genetic variations are equivalent between males and females. We hypothesized that if the intrinsic expression levels of ASD-associated genes are different between males and females, they may contribute to the sex bias in ASD. Aiming to decode the genetic contribution to the ASD sex bias, we determined whether gene expression levels of ASD-associated genes were different between undiagnosed males and females. Analyses of the ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNAseq) data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression consortium (GTEx) revealed modest differences for 17 ASD-associated genes in the relevant brain regions between males and females. These candidate genes showed stronger collective sex-dependent expression in the gene set enrichment analysis, which was subsequently validated by the RNAseq data from the PsychENCODE consortium. In addition, gene ontology analysis revealed the functional relevance of the 17 candidate genes in chromatin remodeling and synaptic regulation. Taken together, these candidate genes discovered through big data analysis suggest that sex-dependent expression of ASD-associated genes may contribute to the sex bias in ASD. These novel insights into the sex bias may refine underlying disease mechanisms of ASD, potentially informing therapeutic strategies for improving the quality of life of diagnosed individuals.

Assessing Psychological Implications in Children with Delayed Verbal Communication and Vocabulary Development: A Systematic Review

Background: Delayed verbal communication and vocabulary development can significantly impact children's emotional well-being, social interactions, and overall psychological development. This systematic review aims to synthesize existing research on the psychological effects associated with these delays, focusing on how they affect children's emotional health, social skills, and cognitive functioning. Methodology: This review systematically analyzed studies that investigated the psychological consequences of delayed verbal communication and vocabulary development in children. The studies included were diverse in design, including cross-sectional, longitudinal, and mixed-method approaches. Key measures across studies included assessments of depressive and anxiety symptoms, social-emotional functioning, language skills, and cognitive abilities. The analysis synthesized findings from a range of populations, including children with developmental language disorders (DLD), specific language impairment (SLI), and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Results: The review found that children with delayed verbal communication and vocabulary development are at increased risk for a variety of psychological issues. These include higher levels of anxiety and depression, difficulties in social interactions, and cognitive challenges. Specifically, children with DLD and SLI were more likely to experience emotional difficulties, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety, compared to their peers. Pragmatic language difficulties were found to be particularly associated with later psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms. Peer problems, bullying, and socioemotional challenges were prominent among youth with language impairments. Additionally, deficits in higher-order language skills and cognitive abilities were linked to greater emotional and social difficulties. Conclusion: The psychological impacts of delayed verbal communication and vocabulary development are profound, affecting children's emotional well-being, social interactions, and cognitive development. Interventions should address both language difficulties and associated emotional and social challenges.

Dual Kernel Support Vector-based Crossover Red Fox Algorithm: Advancements in Assistive Technology for Hearing-impaired Individuals

Individuals with hearing impairment face several challenges, including difficulties in communication, social interactions, and accessibility to information on various auditory abilities. Innovations range from hearing aids to advanced communication devices and mobile apps. Designing solutions that prioritize user feedback ensures a more inclusive and empowering experience for people with hearing impairment. Assistive technology (AT) endeavors to enhance the daily lives of individuals, fostering greater connectivity, and also plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges. Therefore, an attention dual kernel support vector-based crossover red fox (ADKS-CRF) algorithm is developed for superior performance. This research study proposes a model combining a dual kernel support vector machine with an attention mechanism to implicitly operate in a high-dimensional feature space without computing the transformed vector features. The crossover strategy is incorporated with the red fox optimization algorithm, and the integrated formation of CRF fine-tunes the parameters of the ADKS model, removing the complexity of local optima. This work conducted experiments using raw data from an effective 3D ear acquisition system dataset. Experimental validation is conducted using various evaluation measures to assess effectiveness. The proposed hybrid approach achieves a sensitivity of 97.8%, an F1-score of 97.1%, a specificity of 96.3%, an accuracy of 98.4%, a false alarm rate of 90.8%, and a Matthews correlation coefficient of 97.3%. The comparative analysis evaluates the efficacy of the ADKS-CRF method with various baseline approaches for the development of ATs for hearing-impaired people.

Research and Application of Virtual Reality Technology Based on the Medical Field of Autism

With the rapid advancement of technology, virtual reality has revolutionized various industries, including healthcare. In particular, the treatment of autism has greatly benefited from the integration of virtual reality technology. This study aims to provide an analysis and summary of the recent advancements and applications of virtual reality in the medical field for autism, based on a comprehensive literature review. It investigates how virtual reality technology is currently helping individuals with autism to alleviate the difficulties caused by complex symptoms, and explores effective treatment and rehabilitation approaches for different types of autism spectrum disorder. The study also examines specific autism disorders, such as social interaction difficulties and emotional regulation challenges. Furthermore, it outlines the numerous challenges that virtual reality technology faces in its development for medical applications in the field of autism. Finally, the paper concludes and offers future prospects in this domain.

Knowledge and awareness of autism spectrum disorder among Libyans.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the presence of delayed or defective development before the age of three years, as well as behavioral difficulties in social communication and interaction. To evaluate ASD knowledge and awareness, as well as ASD information sources in a sample of the Libyan general population, and to explore factors that could be associated with the knowledge and awareness. A cross-sectional study was carried out between 22 March and 13 August, 2022 using a self-administered questionnaire. The study included 2350 individual aged 18 and up from households living in different regions in Libya (eastern, southern, central, and western). Out of 2195 participants, 48.9% were females and 51.1% were males. Three-quarters of the participants (74.8%) presented a low level of knowledge about autism causes. Of those whose source of knowledge of autism was social media, 78.9% had a low level of knowledge. However, 57.9% of the participants showed a good level of awareness of autism symptoms and signs. The participants had a limited understanding of the causes and characteristics of ASD. Raising community awareness of the causes and characteristics of ASD is a priority.

And what about today? Burden and support needs of adolescent childhood cancer survivors in long-term follow-up care-A qualitative content analysis.

Childhood cancer affects approximately 2000 children annually in Germany, and there is an increasing number of long-term childhood cancer survivors. Due to developmental tasks, adolescent survivors in long-term follow-up (LTFU) care may face specific challenges and perceive different burden due to their disease. The current study explored (a) the impact of cancer and burden regarding survivorship and (b) supportive needs of adolescent childhood cancer survivors in LTFU care. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 adolescent childhood cancer survivors in LTFU care aged 14-18 years (average age 16.4 years). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Based on the exploratory research questions, two key categories were generated: (1) The impact and burden on survivors' lives during LTFU care and (2) support needs of adolescent childhood cancer survivors in LTFU care. The four subcategories that emerged regarding the impact and burden on survivors' lives during LTFU care were (1) physical consequences, (2) cognitive impairments, (3) difficulties in social interactions, and (4) psychosocial burden. Additionally, two subcategories, (1) practical and (2) emotional support needs of adolescent childhood cancer survivors were identified. Our results indicate that childhood cancer influences adolescent survivors' life in a negative way even many years after the end of treatment. Furthermore, parents seem to play a crucial role in the survivorship experience of childhood cancer survivors, as they remain keep responsible for most cancer-related concerns even during LTFU care, causing adolescents to persist in the child role. A family systemic approach to care is suggested to facilitate development-specific tasks and to enable adolescents to become autonomous adults. Still, the question remains as to who in the health care system could take over the family systemic tasks.

The Risk of Autism in Children Relevance of Age of Father & Genetics During Pregnancy Clinical Observation

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication alongside stereotypic, repetitive behavior and narrow interests. The reported prevalence of ASD in children has increased during the last two decades. The current prevalence of ASD is estimated to be approximately 1% (1–3). At least part of the explanation for the increasing ASD prevalence is likely to be related to factors such as changing diagnostic criteria, greater awareness, improved case identification, and changes in age of diagnosis.

Behavioral Characteristics of Children with Autistic Disorders

This study aims to describe the Behavioral characteristics of children with Autistic disorders, at the Autism Center in Sulaimani Governorate. This study investigates the behavioral traits of children who have been diagnosed with autism at the Sulaimani Autism Center in the Sulaimani governorate. The research period spans from November 2013 to May 2014. The findings of the study revealed that children exhibit difficulties in social interaction, with the highest percentage of responses being observed in the item "Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction," accounting for 88%. This was closely followed by the item "Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language," which accounted for 82% of the responses. The prevalence of communication impairments in children is greatest in the category of "Delay in, or complete absence of, the development of spoken language (without any effort to utilize alternative forms of communication such as gestures or mime)," accounting for 80% of cases. In relation to the restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, it has been observed that children exhibit the highest frequency towards the item "Preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus," accounting for 62% of cases. Furthermore, the item "Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting or complex whole-body movements)" has the lowest frequency.

The Effectiveness of Peer-Mediated Interventions and Applied Behavioural Analysis in Improving Autistic Individuals Social Interaction: A Comparative Analysis

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by difficulties in social communication and interaction. To enhance the social functioning of individuals with ASD, various intervention strategies including Peer-Mediated Interventions (PMI) and Applied Behavioural Analysis-Based Interventions (ABA-BI), have been developed. This research article conducted a comprehensive comparative analysis by reviewing existing literature to assess PMIs and ABA-BIs effectiveness in improving social initiation, social understanding, and social responses in individuals with ASD. The findings revealed that PMI showed better results in improving the social initiation of autistic individuals, while ABA-BI demonstrated better outcomes in enhancing their social responses. However, there is limited research on the improvement outcomes related to social understanding in autistic individuals, and the long-term effects of these interventions were not examined. In addition, certain factors, including gender, cultural context, social context, and age group, may influence the relative effectiveness of these interventions. As is this, more research needs to be conducted to examine the influence of these factors on improving the social interaction ability of autistic individuals. Understanding these influences may help design tailored intervention strategies to optimise treatment outcomes.

Gender differences in the symptoms and physiological basis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder related to repetitive behaviors and intrusive thoughts. Individuals with OCD experience conscious, self-imposed compulsions and counter-compulsions, which result in high levels of anxiety and difficulties in social interactions. OCD is a common mental disorder with onset often in adolescence. Gender differences in OCD exist, with males reporting earlier symptom onset, and females experiencing symptoms during adolescence, pregnancy, or postpartum, particularly related to contamination and/or aggressive obsessions. Neurobiological factors play a role in OCD etiology. Genetic studies show hereditary tendencies, with gender differences observed. Brain structure research identifies differences between male and female patients. Dopamine and plasma norepinephrine are implicated in OCD pathogenesis. Understanding gender differences is crucial for OCD diagnosis and treatment. Further research is needed to validate and explain these differences in order to inform advancements in OCD treatment approaches. This paper summarizes and discusses the relationship between OCD and gender, focusing on epidemiological characteristics, symptoms, and physiological basis of OCD, emphasizing gender differences. Future research directions in the field of OCD are presented.

EQTL colocalization analysis highlights novel susceptibility genes in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication, repetitive behavior, and restricted interests. ASD has proven to have a strong genetic component. However, defining causal genes is still one of the main challenges in GWAS, since the vast majority (>90%) of detected signals lie within the non-coding genome. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) colocalization analysis determines whether a specific variant is responsible for both a local eQTL and GWAS association and has helped leverage data and rendering gene discovery for a wide array of diseases. Here we further mine the largest ASD GWAS performed to date (18,381 cases and 27,969 controls) altogether with GWAS summary statistics from the main PGC studies (Schizophrenia, MD (Major Depression) and ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)), by using eQTpLot, a newly developed tool that illustrates the colocalization of GWAS and eQTL signals in a locus, and the enrichment of and correlation between the candidate gene eQTLs and trait-significant variants. This analysis points up 8 genes with a significant eQTL colocalization signal in ASD (CRHR1, KANSL1, MANBA, MAPT, MMP12, NKX2-2, PTPRE and WNT3) and one gene (SRPK2) with a marginally significant colocalization signal (r = 0.69, p < 1 × 10−6), and specifically highlights the potentially causal role of MAPT (r = 0.76, p < 1 × 10−6), NKX2-2 (r = 0.71, p-value = 2.26−02) and PTPRE (r = 0.97, p-value = 2.63−04) when restricting the analysis to brain tissue.

Hubungan Interaksi Sosial dengan Kecerdasan Emosional Siswa di SMPN 1 Sungai Geringging

This research is motivated by the phenomenon of students who experience social interaction problems, students feel embarrassed when they start interacting with their friends where they feel they will not be accepted in their social environment, and students who have difficulty in social interaction in the school environment often act indifferent when their friends are speak. This research uses a quantitative approach with a descriptive correlational research type. The population of this study was 421 students and the sample was 205 students using the stratified random sampling formula. Data were collected using a Likert scale model questionnaire and validity tests were carried out with valid items totaling 36 social interaction questionnaire items and 29 emotional intelligence questionnaire items. Meanwhile, the reliability test on the social interaction questionnaire was 0.919 and the emotional intelligence questionnaire was 0.910. Data analysis uses descriptive statistics using the person product moment correlation formula. The results of the research show that (1) The social interaction of students at SMPN 1 Sungai Geringging is at varying levels, most of it is in the medium category with a percentage of 56.10% (2) The emotional intelligence of students is at varying levels, most of it is in the medium category with percentage 54.63% (3) there is a positive and significant relationship between Social Interaction and the Emotional Intelligence of students at SMPN 1 Sungai Geringging with a calculated r value of 0.423 with an aggressiveness level of 0.000). Therefore, guidance and counseling services are needed to improve students' social interaction and emotional intelligence through information services, content mastery services and group guidance services.

How neurotypical listeners recognize emotions expressed through vocal cues by speakers with high-functioning autism.

We conducted an investigation to explore how neurotypical (NT) listeners perceive the emotional tone of voice in sentences spoken by individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and NT speakers. The investigation included both male and female speakers from both groups. In Study 1, NT listeners were asked to identify the emotional prosody (anger, fear, happiness, surprise or neutral) conveyed by the speakers. Results revealed that emotional expressions produced by male ASD speakers were generally less accurately recognized compared to male NT speakers. In contrast, emotions expressed by female ASD speakers were more accurately categorized compared to female NT speakers, except when expressing fear. This suggests that female ASD speakers may not express emotional prosody in the same way as their male counterparts. In Study 2, a subset of produced materials was rated for valence, voice modulation, and voice control to supplement Study 1 results: Female ASD speakers sounded less negative when expressing fear compared to female NT speakers. Male ASD speakers were perceived as less positive than NT speakers when expressing happiness. Voice modulation also differed between groups, showing a tendency for ASD speakers to follow different display rules for both positive emotions (happiness and surprise) tested. Finally, male ASD speakers were rated to use voice cues less appropriately compared to NT male speakers, an effect less pronounced for female ASD speakers. Together, the results imply that difficulties in social interactions among individuals with high-functioning ASD could be due to non-prototypical voice use of male ASD speakers and emphasize that female individuals do not show the same effects.

SCD14, a marker of immune-inflammation can help to distinguish between psychotic disorders with and without disordered social interaction

Social interaction difficulties and loneliness as well as activation of immunological pathways and a status of low-grade immune-inflammation are thought to be associated with psychotic disorders. So far, a single biomarker that indicates disordered social interaction as part of psychotic disorders and immune-inflammation has yet to found but could be clinically useful. If low-grade immune-inflammation is a contributor to psychotic disorders, it raises the question where exactly, when and why it begins to negatively impact the human body? Deviant gut microbiota have been discussed in this context. Here, stress resulting from disordered social interaction may contribute to the disruption of the intestinal barrier. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from bacteria can enter the body leading to an activation of monocytes – among others – via the cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) and further influencing central nervous structures. CD14 can be released by monocytes upon activation as a soluble form (sCD14). We hypothesize that sCD14 could be a useful biomarker to evaluate the consequences of disordered social interaction in psychotic patients including low-grade immune-inflammation via the gut-brain axis. This could be performed using an analysis of gut microbiota, flow cytometry and proteome analysis of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) together with further systematic evaluations of social behavior.

The role of social theory work in the treatment of autism students

BackgroundAutism in students often presents as social interaction difficulties. Social theory offers a valuable framework and approach to guide interventions aimed at promoting social development among students with autism.Subjects and Methods The study conducted research on a group of students diagnosed with autism in a southwestern China hospital in 2021. Participants included 25 students aged 3-6, 30 students aged 7-12, and 5 students aged 13-18. The total sample of 60 students was divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received medication treatment as prescribed by doctors, while the control group underwent regular psychological treatment at the hospital’s psychological treatment center in addition to medication. After one year of treatment, the effectiveness of the interventions was assessed using EEG, SPECT examination results, and SPSS23.0 for statistical analysis.Results Among the experimental group, 10 patients achieved recovery, 12 demonstrated significant improvement, and 8 did not achieve recovery. In the control group, 15 patients recovered, 15 showed significant improvement, and none did not recover. The difference in outcomes between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant (P&lt;0.05).ConclusionsSocial theory plays an important role in the treatment of student autism, as it can help students establish and develop social skills for autism. By creating a positive social environment, comprehensive social support and education can be provided for students with autism.

Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An In-Depth Review of Correlations and Complexities.

Sleep-disordered breathing is a significant problem affecting the pediatric population. These conditions can affect sleep quality and children's overall health and well-being. Difficulties in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavioral patterns characterize autism spectrum disorder. Sleep disturbances are common in children with ASD. This literature review aims to gather and analyze available studies on the relationship between SDB and children with autism spectrum disorder. We comprehensively searched the literature using major search engines (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). After removing duplicates, we extracted a total of 96 records. We selected 19 studies for inclusion after a thorough title and abstract screening process. Seven articles were ultimately incorporated into this analysis. The research findings presented herein emphasize the substantial influence of sleep-disordered breathing on pediatric individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These findings reveal a high incidence of SDB in children with ASD, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and specialized treatment. Obesity in this population further complicates matters, requiring focused weight management strategies. Surgical interventions, such as adenotonsillectomy, have shown promise in improving behavioral issues in children with ASD affected by OSA, regardless of their obesity status. However, more comprehensive studies are necessary to investigate the benefits of A&T treatment, specifically in children with ASD and OSA. The complex relationship between ASD, SDB, and other factors, such as joint hypermobility and muscle hypotonia, suggests a need for multidisciplinary treatment approaches. Physiotherapy can play a critical role in addressing these intricate health issues. Early sleep assessments and tailored weight management strategies are essential for timely diagnosis and intervention in children with ASD. Policy initiatives should support these efforts to enhance the overall well-being of this population. Further research is crucial to understand the complex causes of sleep disturbances in children with ASD and to develop effective interventions considering the multifaceted nature of these conditions.

Self- and proxy-reported impaired social interaction in young adults with simple congenital heart defects.

Simple Congenital Heart Defects such as septal defects constitute a large proportion of Congenital Heart Defects. New research has demonstrated more co-morbidities than previously thought. In particular, co-morbidities involving neurocognitive, psychiatric, and social difficulties have been described. Neurocognitive and psychiatric morbidities affect social interaction. Social interaction is important in everyday social life (education, work life, family life). In this study, we investigated social interaction through self- and proxy-answered Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) in young adults with simple Congenital Heart Defects and compared their social interaction profile to healthy matched controls. We included a total of 80 patients with either atrial or ventricular septal defect (age 26.6 years) and 38 heart-healthy, age, sex, and ISCED educational matched controls (age: 25.3 years). A close relative proxy from each participant took part in the study as well. All participants answered the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) (n = 225). Our primary and secondary outcomes were the SRS-2 Total score and the SRS-2 sub-scores. In the Congenital Heart Defects group, 31.3% had a Total score above 60 compared to 7.9% in the control group (p = 0.005, RR = 3.96). The participants with a septal defect had a higher Total score (52.5 vs. 45.5, p = 0.004), a higher Social Cognition sub-score (55.0 vs. 47.0, p = 0.0004), and a higher Social Motivation sub-score (50.0 vs. 45.0, p = 0.003) than the heart-healthy participants. We found no difference between the two groups regarding the sub-scores of Social Awareness and Social Communication. A multiple linear regression model showed that the variable that explained most of the variation in Total Score was having a previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder. We found that young adults with atrial or ventricular septal defects have a fourfold increased risk of social interaction difficulties compared to heart-healthy peers. They have a social interaction profile, with difficulties in social cognition and social motivation, and preserved social awareness and social communication. Psychiatric morbidity explained most of the variation in social interaction problems. As social difficulties and psychiatric morbidities are intertwined, social interaction difficulties could be an indication of already underlying psychiatric morbidities or a risk factor for future psychiatric morbidity.