The Experience of Loneliness and Friendship in Autism

Bauminger, Nirit; Kasari, Connie

doi:10.1007/0-306-47946-x_11

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Cognitive models of PTSD development and maintenance [Brewin, 2001; Brewin, Dalgleish, & Joseph, 1996; Ehlers & Clark, 2000] highlight the role of pre‐trauma vulnerability factors such as prior trauma exposure, peri‐trauma factors such as an overwhelming fear response, visual, and detail focused processing (particularly of sensory features), and post‐trauma factors such as negative/catastrophic appraisals, rumination, suppression, avoidance, and social withdrawal. Many of these risk factors are features of ASD, for example, detail focus [“weak‐central coherence”; Frith, 1989; Happé, 1999] and difficulties with social interaction [Bauminger & Kasari, 2002; Orsmond, Krauss, & Seltzer, 2004]; known to be prevalent in ASD, for example, suppression [Shipherd & Beck, 2005] and emotion dysregulation [Mazefsky, Borue, Day, & Minshew, 2014]; or associated with polygenic scores for ASD, for example, childhood trauma [Warrier & Baron‐Cohen, 2019]. Research in recently traumatized individuals with acute stress disorder has shown that when cognitive load is high, the ability to suppress memories is compromised resulting in increased traumatic intrusions (during active suppression and generally) and priming toward trauma related stimuli [Nixon & Rackebrandt, 2016].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM‐5 and Non‐DSM‐5 Traumatic Life Events

2020

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Research to date suggests that individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) may be at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to traumatic life events. It has been posited that characteristics of ASD may affect perceptions of trauma, with a wider range of life events acting as possible catalysts for PTSD development. This study set out to explore the nature of "trauma" for adults with ASD and the rates of self-reported PTSD symptomatology following DSM-5 and non-DSM-5 traumas-the latter being defined as those that would not meet the standard DSM-5 PTSD trauma Criterion A. Fifty-nine adults with ASD who reported exposure to traumatic events took part in the study, which involved completing a series of online questionnaires. Thirty-three individuals reported experiencing a "DSM-5" traumatic event (i.e., an event meeting DSM-5 PTSD Criterion A) and 35 reported a "non-DSM-5" traumautic event. Trauma-exposed ASD adults were found to be at increased risk of PTSD development, compared to previous general population statistics, with PTSD symptom scores crossing thresholds suggestive of probable PTSD diagnosis for more than 40% of ASD individuals following DSM-5 or non-DSM-5 traumas. A broader range of life events appear to be experienced as traumatic and may act as a catalyst for PTSD development in adults with ASD. Assessment of trauma and PTSD symptomatology should consider possible non-DSM-5 traumas in this population, and PTSD diagnosis and treatment should not be withheld simply due to the atypicality of the experienced traumatic event.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM‐5 and Non‐DSM‐5 Traumatic Life Events

2020

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“…Nevertheless, very few studies have investigated the significance of loneliness in ASD. Bauminger and Kasari (2001) attribute the lack of empirical attention with regard to loneliness in ASD to the diagnostic criteria that specify an inability to form satisfactory social relationships. However, the implications of the criteria are unclear.…”

Section: Loneliness and Autism Spectrum Disordersmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Nevertheless, individual variations in perceived social support from both classmates and friends outside the school may mediate feelings of loneliness in ASD. Moreover, parents of children with ASD play an important role in providing opportunities for their children to meet with other children, and in supporting the ongoing friendship processes (Bauminger and Kasari 2001). Also, support and help from teachers in an ''autism-friendly'' environment may decrease the risk of social difficulties and peer rejection.…”

Section: Perceived Social Supportmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…According to the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association 2000), the social deficit in ASD is marked by impairment in the use of nonverbal behaviors, failure to develop peer relationships, a lack of seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with others, and a general lack of social or emotional reciprocity. Empirical evidence further suggests that children and adolescents with ASD are generally characterized by poor friendships, often lack social skills, and commonly experience peer rejection (Bauminger and Kasari 2001;Orsmond et al 2004). Moreover, studies of general populations indicate that children who are rejected and lack friends in elementary school are more likely to be lonely in adolescence (Pedersen et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Loneliness and Social Support in Adolescent Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Lasgaard

Nielsen²,

Eriksen

et al. 2009

J Autism Dev Disord

196

122

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Loneliness and perceived social support were examined in 39 adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by means of a self-labeling loneliness measure, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (third version), and the Social Support Scale for Children. Twenty-one percent of the boys with ASD described themselves as often or always feeling lonely. Compared with 199 boys from regular schools in a national probability study, ASD was strongly associated with often or always feeling lonely (OR: 7.08, p < .0005), as well as with a higher degree of loneliness (F(1,229) = 11.1, p < .005). Perceived social support from classmates, parents, and a close friend correlated negatively with loneliness in ASD. The study, therefore, indicates a high occurrence of loneliness among adolescent boys with ASD and points at perceived social support as an important protective factor.

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“…Outside of the family system, youths with ASD often encounter difficulties in their social relations with friends, classmates, and teachers. Indeed, youths with ASD are more likely to have friendships that are shorter (Bauminger & Shulman, 2003), lower in quality (Bauminger & Kasari, 2001), and less frequent (Koning & Magill-Evans, 2001) than those of their typically developing peers. These difficulties often extend into adulthood, when over 40% of individuals with ASD are reported to be friendless (Orsmond, Krauss & Seltzer, 2004).…”

Section: Peer and School Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

MultisystemicTherapy forDisruptiveBehaviorProblems inYouthsWithAutismSpectrumDisorders:A ProgressReport

Wagner

Borduin

Kanne

et al. 2013

J Marital Family Therapy

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Youths with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often engage in serious disruptive behaviors that interfere with their ability to successfully manage day-to-day responsibilities and contribute to relationship problems with caregivers, peers, and teachers. Effective treatments are needed to address the factors linked with disruptive behavior problems in this population of youths. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a comprehensive family- and community-based treatment approach that has been effective with other difficult-to-treat populations of youths and holds promise for youths with ASD. In this article, we review the broad range of factors associated with disruptive behaviors among youths with ASD and discuss how MST interventions can be adapted to address those factors. We also present a framework for our adaptation of the MST model for youths with ASD. This framework includes a recently completed pilot study as well as an ongoing efficacy trial that together have served to identify key interventions for our adaptation of the MST model.

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The Experience of Loneliness and Friendship in Autism

Cited by 10 publications

References 53 publications

Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM‐5 and Non‐DSM‐5 Traumatic Life Events

Experience of Trauma and PTSD Symptoms in Autistic Adults: Risk of PTSD Development Following DSM‐5 and Non‐DSM‐5 Traumatic Life Events

Loneliness and Social Support in Adolescent Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders

MultisystemicTherapy forDisruptiveBehaviorProblems inYouthsWithAutismSpectrumDisorders:A ProgressReport

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