Social Support and Stress Response in Adults with Autism and without Intellectual Disability

Background and Purpose: Adults with ASD experience significant social disability, which is diagnostic of ASD and affects many domains of adult functioning. This significant social disability may be a key reason why the vast majority of adults with ASD have no significant social relationships outside of those with their immediate families. However, as adults with ASD and their parents age, they may experience a lack of social support. Social support is important because research in individuals not affected by ASD indicates that it can be protective against the effects of perceived stress and life stressors. While it is likely that adults with ASD experience poor overall social support, we know very little about social support and its effects on stress in this population. This study aimed to improve our understanding of social support and its effect on stress response in adults with ASD by: (1) identifying differences in social support among adults with ASD and healthy volunteers; and (2) examining the relationship between social support and stress response adults with ASD. We hypothesized that adults with ASD would experience less social support than healthy volunteers and that there would be a significant relationship between social support and stress response in adults with ASD.

 

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 40 adults with ASD and 25 healthy volunteers. Participants with ASD were ages 18-44 (M=24.2), had intelligence quotient (IQ) scores from 80-132 (M=106.3), and were 90.0% male. Healthy volunteers were ages 18-32 (M=25.1), had IQ scores from 82-138 (M=110.6), and were 84.0% male. Repeated measures of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were taken during a social stress challenge task, while salivary cortisol was collected before and after the task. Measures also assessed perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), stressful life events (Stress Survey Schedule), and perceived social support (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List). Analyses examined group differences between adults with ASD and healthy volunteers in social support using analysis of variance procedures. The relationship between social support and stress response was analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression procedures separately for biological and psychosocial stress response.

 

Results: Results indicated that adults with ASD perceived that they had significantly less social support (M=72.35) than healthy volunteers (M=95.04), F(1,60)=23.75, p<.001, when controlling for IQ and sex. Results of regression analyses indicated that social support significantly predicted psychosocial stress, β=-.02, t(35)=-3.83, p<.001, but not biological stress response, β=.01, t(35)=.38, p=.71, when controlling for IQ and sex.

 

Conclusions and Implications: Results indicate that adults with ASD perceive that they have less social support than healthy volunteers. Results also indicate that adults with ASD who perceive that they have more social support experience less psychosocial stress. Findings highlight disparities in social support between adults with ASD and healthy volunteers and indicate the need to create opportunities for adults with ASD to develop meaningful social relationships. These findings additionally indicate the need for social workers to promote opportunities for social inclusion of individuals with ASD in society.