The role of loneliness as a mediator between autism features and mental health among autistic young adults
The role of loneliness as a mediator between autism features and mental health among autistic young adults
复制标题
孤独感在自闭症年轻人中作为自闭症特征和心理健康之间的中介作用
作者：
H. Schiltz;Alana J. McVey;Bridget Dolan Wozniak;Angela D. Haendel;Rachel Stanley;Alexis A Arias;Nakia S. Gordon;A. V. Van Hecke
患有自闭症的成年人通常会经历焦虑和抑郁。这些对心理健康的担忧往往与社会经历有关，因此心理健康可以通过社会关系得到支持，并因孤独而恶化。社交孤独感和情绪孤独感(即社交孤立和缺乏情感依恋)在自闭症特征和心理健康之间的中介作用尚未在自闭症成年人中得到实证检验。在这里，69名自闭症年轻人完成了自我报告问卷，评估了社交(友谊问卷)、自闭症特征(自闭症商数)、心理健康(利博维茨社交焦虑量表、社交恐惧症问卷、贝克抑郁问卷)和孤独(成人社交和情感孤独量表)。自闭症特征、社交孤独感、家庭孤独感、社交焦虑和抑郁之间存在正相关。此外，更多的社交联系与较少的社交和家庭孤独以及较少的社交焦虑有关，但与抑郁无关。中介分析表明，社会接触和自闭症特征通过社会孤独感对心理健康有显著的间接影响。间接影响部分被认为是用家庭孤独代替社会孤独，而不是使用浪漫孤独。根据这些结果，我们讨论了孤独对自闭症年轻人的作用的科学和临床意义，并提供了建议。自闭症成年人通常会经历包括社交焦虑和抑郁在内的心理健康问题，这可能会对他们的生活质量产生负面影响。然而，目前还不完全清楚，为什么心理健康问题的发生率如此之高。一些证据表明，社交联系可能起到了关键作用。这项研究的目的是探索孤独、心理健康问题、自闭症特征和自闭症成年人的社会接触之间的联系，并测试孤独症特征与心理健康之间的联系是否可以用孤独来解释。这项研究的研究人员使用了69名自闭症年轻人填写的问卷收集数据。报告自闭症特征的自闭症成年人也报告了更多的社交和家庭孤独，更高水平的社交焦虑和抑郁，以及更少的主动社交。此外，有更多社交活动的成年人可能会报告较低的社交和家庭孤独和社交焦虑水平，但不会抑郁。结果表明，孤独感可以很好地解释社交投入和自闭症特征与社交焦虑和抑郁症状之间的联系。这项研究的结果扩展了之前的发现，说明了一个因素(孤独)可能是导致自闭症成年人心理健康问题发生率高的原因。这些发现突显了研究与自闭症成年人心理健康担忧相关的因素以及为自闭症年轻人的心理健康最好地支持社会联系的方法的重要性。
Autistic adults commonly experience anxiety and depression. These mental health concerns are often tied to social experiences, such that mental well-being can be supported by social connection and deteriorated by loneliness. The mediating role of social and emotional loneliness (i.e. social isolation and lack of emotional attachment, respectively) between autism features and mental health has yet to be empirically tested among autistic adults. Here, 69 autistic young adults completed self-report questionnaires assessing social contact (Friendship Questionnaire), autism features (Autism Quotient), mental health (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Phobia Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory), and loneliness (Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults). Positive associations emerged between autism features, social loneliness, family loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. In addition, more social contact was related to less social and family loneliness and less social anxiety but was not related to depression. Mediation analyses indicated significant indirect effects of social contact and autism features on mental health through social loneliness. Indirect effects partially held substituting family loneliness for social loneliness and did not hold using romantic loneliness. In light of these results, the scientific and clinical implications of the role of loneliness for autistic young adults are discussed and recommendations provided. Lay abstract Autistic adults commonly experience mental health concerns including social anxiety and depression, which can have negative effects on their quality of life. It is not completely clear, however, why rates of mental health concerns are so high. Some evidence suggests that social connectedness might play a key role. The goal of this study was to explore links between loneliness, mental health concerns, autism features, and social contact among autistic adults and test whether the links between mental health with autism features and social contact can be explained by loneliness. Researchers in this study collected data using questionnaires completed by 69 autistic young adults. Autistic adults who reported more autism features also reported more social and family loneliness, higher levels of social anxiety and depression, and fewer initiated social contacts. In addition, adults with more social contact initiations were likely to report lower levels of social and family loneliness and social anxiety but not depression. Results showed that the link from social engagement and autism features to social anxiety and depression symptoms could be mostly explained by loneliness. The results of this study expand previous findings by illustrating one factor (loneliness) that might be responsible for the high rates of mental health concerns among adults on the autism spectrum. These findings highlight the importance of studying factors related to mental health concerns among autistic adults and ways to best support social connectedness for the mental well-being of autistic young adults.
影响因子：
2.5
作者：
Lei J;Sukhodolsky DG;Abdullahi SM;Braconnier ML;Ventola P
通讯作者：
Ventola P
影响因子：
4.1
作者：
Baker, SL;Heinrichs, N;Hofmann, SG
通讯作者：
Hofmann, SG