Loneliness and social support in adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders.
Boosting a teen's sense of support—especially from one close friend—can directly cut chronic loneliness and head off later anxiety or depression.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lasgaard et al. (2010) asked teenage boys with autism how lonely they felt. They also asked how much support they got from parents, classmates, and a best friend.
The team used paper surveys in schools. They compared the boys' answers to see if more support meant less loneliness.
What they found
One in five boys said they were chronically lonely. The boys who felt more supported reported far less loneliness.
Support from a close friend mattered most, followed by parents, then classmates.
How this fits with other research
Mazurek (2014) later asked autistic adults the same questions and found the same link: better friendships cut loneliness. This shows the pattern lasts beyond high school.
Redquest et al. (2021) went a step further. They showed loneliness is the bridge between autism traits and later anxiety or depression. Fixing social ties early may stop mental-health slides.
Harkins et al. (2023) looked at autistic boys again and found that anxiety and depression predicted fewer friendships. This flips the arrow: poor mental health can also shrink the friend circle, so we may need to treat both sides.
Why it matters
You can measure loneliness in minutes with a short checklist. If a teen client scores high, add social-support goals to the behavior plan. Start by teaching one peer interaction that builds a close friendship, then loop parents in for daily check-ins. Small boosts in support can quickly lower loneliness and protect mental health down the road.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Loneliness and perceived social support were examined in 39 adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by means of a self-labeling loneliness measure, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (third version), and the Social Support Scale for Children. Twenty-one percent of the boys with ASD described themselves as often or always feeling lonely. Compared with 199 boys from regular schools in a national probability study, ASD was strongly associated with often or always feeling lonely (OR: 7.08, p < .0005), as well as with a higher degree of loneliness (F(1,229) = 11.1, p < .005). Perceived social support from classmates, parents, and a close friend correlated negatively with loneliness in ASD. The study, therefore, indicates a high occurrence of loneliness among adolescent boys with ASD and points at perceived social support as an important protective factor.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2010 · doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0851-z