Friendship quality among autistic and non-autistic (pre-) adolescents: Protective or risk factor for mental health?

ABSTRACT:

Lay abstract

Autistic young people are often misunderstood by non-autistic young people, and this can lead to difficulties in their friendships. We know that friendship is very important for our mental health. For non-autistic young people, having good friendships is linked to better mental health and having problems in friendship can cause mental health problems. This study aimed to compare the positive and negative features of friendship that autistic non-autistic young people experience. The study also aimed to understand if having positive or negative friendship features is related to signs of mental health problems (anxiety and depression). 306 young people aged 9-16 took part in this study. These were 86 autistic boys, 18 autistic girls, 91 non-autistic boys and 111 non-autis

SUBMITTER: O'Connor RAG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9597130 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature