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Experiences of social isolation and loneliness in middle-aged and older autistic adults

Stewart, Gavin R; Luedecke, Emily; Mandy, William; Charlton, Rebecca A; Happé, Francesca; (2024) Experiences of social isolation and loneliness in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Neurodiversity , 2 10.1177/27546330241245529. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: Young autistic people often experience social isolation and loneliness. Despite social isolation and loneliness increasing in later life in non-autistic populations, no studies have examined whether middle-aged and older autistic adults are at an increased likelihood of these experiences. / Methods: 428 adults (autistic n = 265) aged 40–93 years (mean = 60.5 years) completed questionnaires related to social connectedness/isolation, loneliness, and mental health. Group differences and associations were examined. / Results: The autistic group was less socially connected and lonelier than the non-autistic group. While there were few gender differences in social connectedness, women were lonelier than men in both groups, including when controlling for age and mental health. Social connectedness decreased with age in both groups, loneliness only increased with age in the autistic group. For both social connectedness and loneliness, age associations were significantly stronger in men than women. / Conclusions: Autistic adults may be particularly susceptible to social isolation and loneliness in midlife and older age. While autistic women were lonelier than autistic men, autistic men may be at greater risk of increasing social isolation and loneliness with older age. This study highlights the need for evidence-based interventions to address social isolation and to reduce loneliness for autistic people as they age.

Type: Article
Title: Experiences of social isolation and loneliness in middle-aged and older autistic adults
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1177/27546330241245529
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241245529
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Keywords: Social connectedness, social isolation, loneliness, autism, autistic adults, midlife, older age
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10191266
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