Differences in anxieties and social networks in a group matched sample of autistic and typically developing students transitioning to university

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Abstract

Transitioning to university can be anxiety-provoking for all students. The relationship between social anxiety, autistic traits, and students’ social world structure, and perceived support is poorly understood. The current study used a group match design where autistic students (n = 28) and typically developing (TD) students (n = 28) were matched on sex, age (17-19 years), ethnicity, pre-university academic performance, and degree subject at university. Autistic students reported greater transition to university worries, and a smaller social network size compared to TD students, though perceived similar levels of support from their social networks. Autistic and TD students showed differential patterns of association with both autistic traits and social anxiety. Broader clinical and practical implications of findings are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1138-1151
JournalAutism
Volume24
Issue number5
Early online date19 Dec 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2020

Funding

Transitioning to university can be anxiety-provoking for all students. The academic, daily living and social difficulties can become magnified for autistic students when considered alongside the social difficulties associated with autism, as well as higher levels of co-occurring social anxiety. Although previous studies report poor transition outcomes and retention rates for autistic students, it is unclear whether: (1) the academic, daily living and socialisation difficulties reported are unique to autistic students; (2) whether there are differences in students’ social networks at university, as well as their perceived level of support provided by network members; and (3) to what extent these difficulties may be accounted for by social anxiety found in both autistic and typically developing (TD) students when transitioning to university. This study compared a group of autistic students transitioning to university against a group of TD students who are similar in age, sex, academic performance prior to starting university and subject of study at university. Autistic students were found to be more socially anxious, more worried about different aspects of university life. Autistic students had a smaller social network compared to TD students, though both groups perceived similar levels of support from their social networks. Higher levels of social anxiety common to both groups, not autistic traits, was associated with greater distress in daily living and socialisation at university. University stakeholders may consider providing more psychoeducation and support around social anxiety for both autistic and TD students transitioning to university, to improve transition outcomes for all students. autism spectrum disorder college perceived social support social anxiety social network university university of bath https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000835 PhD Studentship, University of Bath edited-state corrected-proof typesetter ts1 The authors thank all the students for their participation in the study, without whom, none of this would have been possible. Declaration of conflicting interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article. Ethical approval The study was approved by the University’s departmental ethics committee and is in line with the Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2000. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participating in the research study. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study came from a PhD studentship awarded to the first author through Widening Participation at University of Bath, funded by Office for Fair Access. ORCID iDs Jiedi Lei https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9005-5512 Ailsa Russell https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8443-9381 Supplemental material Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Keywords

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • college
  • perceived social support
  • social anxiety
  • social network
  • university

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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