Mental health difficulties among young people on the autistic spectrum in mainstream secondary schools: a comparative study
Mental health difficulties among young people on the autistic spectrum in mainstream secondary schools: a comparative study
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.1471-3802.2012.01246.x
复制
发表时间：
2014-01-01
影响因子：
1.5
通讯作者：
Humphrey, Neil
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hebron, Judith;Humphrey, Neil
自闭症谱系（AS）的年轻人可能会增加发展心理健康问题的风险，但迄今为止的研究证据一直是模棱两可和/或不充分的。本研究的目的是记录AS青少年的心理健康状况，并确定导致这方面困难的因素。一组青少年的心理健康状况的AS（N = 22）进行了比较，年龄，性别和特殊教育需求（SEN）提供匹配的对照组的青少年阅读障碍（N = 21）和无SEN（N = 23）使用贝克青年量表。此外，五名参与者的AS参加了半结构化的采访，他们的学校的经验。定量分析表明，与无特殊教育背景的青少年相比，有特殊教育背景的青少年的焦虑、抑郁、愤怒和自我意识水平显著升高，焦虑和愤怒水平也显著高于有阅读障碍的青少年。定性分析显示，社会关系的问题，理解AS的性质和中断日常的参与者的心理健康困难的共同贡献因素。然而，访谈数据也揭示了参与者为帮助他们克服困难而采取的关键应对策略。这些研究结果的影响进行了讨论，并指出方法的局限性。
Young people on the autistic spectrum ( AS) may be at an increased risk of developing mental health difficulties, but to date research evidence has been equivocal and/or inadequate. The aim of the current study was to document the mental health profiles of adolescents on the AS, and to identify factors that contribute to difficulties in this area. Mental health profiles of a group of adolescents on the AS (N = 22) were compared with age, gender and special educational needs (SEN)-provision-matched control groups of adolescents with dyslexia (N = 21) and with no SEN (N = 23) using the Beck Youth Inventories. Additionally, five participants on the AS participated in semi-structured interviews about their experience of school. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that adolescents on the AS experienced significantly greater anxiety, depression, anger and lower self-concept than those with no SEN. They also experienced significantly greater anxiety and anger than those with dyslexia. Qualitative analysis revealed that problems in social relationships, understanding the nature of the AS and disruptions to routine were common contributory factors to the mental health difficulties of participants. However, interview data also revealed key coping strategies implemented by participants to help them overcome their difficulties. The implications of these findings are discussed, and methodological limitations are noted.