Social connectedness
Social connectedness in autistic youth
Autistic youth often report challenges in creating and maintaining friendships and feel a sense of social connectedness. Compared to allistic (i.e. non-autistic) youth, autistic children and adolescents are known to have fewer friends, and more often report bullying or ostracism (to be neglected). These aspects could make them feel like they do not belong, or are disconnected from their peer group. Key question here is what autistic youth need and want. How do they perceive their friendship, or what do they want from a friend? Autistic perspectives are often disregarded by (allistic) researchers, yet to include these might be important for autistic youth, bringing them closer to their communities and peers. In this project we work with and for autistic youth, focusing on understanding aspects related to social connectedness and its importance to their well-being.
Get involved: Research on Social Connectedness of Autistic High School Students
High school is usually a period when you are surrounded with peers – both in person and online. Some students have many social contacts during their school time, while others are happy with one or two contacts. But even when surrounded by others, some students still feel lonely. We know from previous research that autistic students spend more time alone but also more often feel lonely in school. So a big question is: what is important for autistic youth to feel welcome and connected in their school? Would autistic students like to have more social contacts, or are other aspects more important for them to have a positive school experience?
We want to learn more about it–and that’s where you come in.
You can participate if you are
- 12 to 18 years old
- Enrolled in a mainstream high school
- Have an official diagnosis of autism
We invite you to a one-on-one online conversation with one of our researchers. This isn’t a test or survey, it is just a relaxed and open chat about your daily experience with peers at high school. The conversation will last no longer than 90 minutes. You can choose whether or not to turn on your camera. The session will be recorded (just so we don’t miss anything you share), and the participation is completely voluntary.
Your story can help us better understand how to support students like you.
If you are interested, leave your contact information here, and our researcher will contact you via email.
If you have further questions, you can send an email to interviewautisme@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Check the flyer in Dutch Here. Check the flyer in English Here
People involved
Psychology, Leiden University - Carolien Rieffe, Boya Li, Yung-Ting Tsou, Jiayin Zhao, Kexin Liu, Rachel O'Connor.
Stakeholders organizations - NVA (Dutch National Autism Organisation), AWA (Academic Workplace Autism).
Partners from different clinical settings - Lex Stockmann (Center for Autism), Els Blijd-Hoogewys (INTER-PSY), Kirstin Greaves-Lord (Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam), Robert Vermeiren (Leiden University Medical Center).
Key Publications
- O’Connor, R. A. G., van den Bedem, N., Blijd-Hoogewys, E. M. A., Stockmann, L., & Rieffe, C. (2022). Friendship quality among autistic and non-autistic (pre-) adolescents: Protective or risk factor for mental health? Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211073448
- Rieffe, C., Kamp, S., Pentinga, J., Becker, M., van Klaveren, L., & Blijd-Hoogewys, E. (2021). Sociale inclusie en ASS op middelbare scholen, wat is er nodig? Wetenschappelijk Tijdschrift Autisme, 20(3), 51-59
Funding
These projects are funded by NWO, ZonMw, Nuts-OHRA.
