Mediating Role of Social Problem-Solving on the Relationship between Autistic Traits and Depression in a Non-Clinical Iranian Sample

Background: research on the role of social problem-solving in the relationship between autistic traits and depres-sion is still in its nascent stage and more detailed research is required.methods: we aimed to investigate the mediating role of problem-solving in the relationship between autistic traits and depression. a sample of 376 university students were assessed on depression, problem-solving and autism-spectrum quotient in 2019 at shahed university, tehran, iran.results: social problem-solving played the role of a partial mediator in the relationship between autistic traits and depression. positive problem orientation and negative problem-solving style fully mediated the effects of autistic traits on depression.conclusion: since people with autistic traits have deficits in problem-solving strategies, they may be vulnerable to symptoms of depression. increasing the ability of positive problem-solving and decreasing negative problem ori-entation may serve as a buffer against depression in people with autistic traits.