Experiences of Friendships for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: A Scoping Review

Friendships are vital to mental health and well-being. Understanding autistic individuals’ lived experiences of friendship is necessary to support friendship development. A scoping review exploring autistic individuals’ experiences of friendship was undertaken to understand their perspectives of fri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review journal of autism and developmental disorders 2024-03, Vol.11 (1), p.184-209
Main Authors: Black, Melissa H., Kuzminski, Rebecca, Wang, Jing, Ang, Jessica, Lee, Cheryl, Hafidzuddin, Siti, McGarry, Sarah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child and School Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Ethnography
Loneliness
Neurosciences
Psychiatry
Psychology
Qualitative research
Rehabilitation
Review Paper
Social Work
Well being
Young adults
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Summary:Friendships are vital to mental health and well-being. Understanding autistic individuals’ lived experiences of friendship is necessary to support friendship development. A scoping review exploring autistic individuals’ experiences of friendship was undertaken to understand their perspectives of friendship. Electronic database and manual reference searches identified twenty-two studies exploring autistic perspectives of friendship. Results were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach across the lifespan. Findings highlight the common and unique experiences of friendship among autistic individuals. While autistic individuals defined friendship based on homophily and propinquity, similar to non-autistic individuals, unique challenges including friendship insecurity, monotropism and efforts to conform to neurotypical social norms, leading to anxiety, were experienced by autistic individuals.
ISSN:2195-7177
2195-7185
DOI:10.1007/s40489-022-00332-8