Job loss predicts worsening depressive symptoms for young adults with autism: A COVID-19 natural experiment.
Job loss predicts worsening depressive symptoms for young adults with autism: A COVID-19 natural experiment.
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失业预示着年轻自闭症患者的抑郁症状会恶化：一项 COVID-19 自然实验。
DOI：
10.1002/aur.2621
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发表时间：
2022
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Bishop,SomerL
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Taylor,JulieLounds;Adams,RyanE;Pezzimenti,Florencia;Zheng,Shuting;Bishop,SomerL
患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的成年人失业和抑郁的比例都很高。虽然在一般人群中，失业预示着抑郁风险的增加，但研究还没有直接检查自闭症患者之间的关系。在COVID - 19导致失业率上升的背景下，我们采用纵向设计来研究就业变化是否预测年轻ASD患者抑郁症状的增加。在线调查从患有自闭症谱系障碍的年轻成年人中收集了两次：一次是在美国采取广泛的社交距离措施之前，另一次是在10周后。两个时间点都包括抑郁症状的测量（贝克抑郁量表‐2）。在时间2中，收集了与COVID相关的就业变化以及这些变化对幸福感的感知影响。在第一时间就业的年轻人（n= 144）中，超过三分之一（37.5%）的人报告在COVID - 19的前两个月就业发生了变化。这种变化大部分是失业或工时减少或工资减少（“失业/减少”）。控制时间1抑郁症状，经历过失业/裁员的年轻人在时间2的抑郁症状明显高于没有工作变化的年轻人。个体对就业变化的感知影响也能预测抑郁症状。这些发现表明，失去工作或工作时间或工资减少会导致自闭症成人患者抑郁症状恶化。在工作场所更好地支持自闭症成年人不仅可以降低失业的可能性，还可以对抗这一群体中极高的抑郁症发病率。虽然失业与一般人群的心理健康问题有关，但在成年自闭症患者中很少考虑到这种关系。在这项研究中，我们发现，与没有换工作的成年人相比，在COVID - 19的前两个月失去工作或经历工资或工作时间减少的自闭症谱系成年人的抑郁症恶化。我们的研究结果表明，增加就业机会可能有助于缓解自闭症成年人的心理健康状况不佳。
Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of both unemployment and depression. Though job loss predicts increased risk of depression in the general population, studies have yet to directly examine this relationship among individuals with ASD. With the backdrop of rising unemployment due to COVID‐19, we used a longitudinal design to examine whether employment changes predicted increasing depressive symptoms among young adults with ASD. Online surveys were collected from young adults with ASD at two times: just before widespread social distancing measures were adopted in the United States, and again 10 weeks later. Both time points included measurement of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory‐2). At Time 2, COVID‐related employment changes and the perceived impact of those changes on well‐being were collected. Of the young adults who were employed at Time 1 (n= 144), over one‐third (37.5%) reported employment changes during the first 2 months of COVID‐19. Most of this change was job loss or reductions in hours or pay (“job loss/reduction”). Controlling for Time 1 depressive symptoms, young adults who experienced job loss/reduction had significantly higher depressive symptoms at Time 2 than those without an employment change. Individuals' perceived impact of employment change also predicted depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that losing a job or experiencing reductions in hours or pay leads to worsening depressive symptoms among adults with ASD. Better supporting autistic adults in the workplace may not only decrease the likelihood of job loss, but also combat the exceedingly high rates of depression in this group.Lay SummaryThough unemployment has been linked to mental health problems in the general population, this relationship is seldom considered among adults with autism. In this study, we found that adults on the autism spectrum who lost their jobs or experienced reductions in pay or hours during the first 2 months of COVID‐19 had worsening depression compared to adults who did not have job changes. Our findings suggest that increasing access to employment may help alleviate poor mental health among autistic adults.