Predictors of mental health and well-being in employed adults with autism spectrum disorder at 12-month follow-up.
Boosting well-being at hire predicts lower depression one year later in newly employed adults with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hedley et al. (2019) followed newly employed adults with autism for one year. They checked mental health, daily living skills, and job satisfaction four times.
What they found
Most scores stayed flat. Depression, anxiety, and well-being did not budge. Daily living skills rose a little, job satisfaction dipped a little. The big news: people who started with higher well-being had lower depression one year later.
How this fits with other research
Holwerda et al. (2013) showed that strong family support helps young adults with autism land and keep jobs. Darren’s team adds that inner well-being protects mental health after the job starts.
Renty et al. (2006) found that outside supports drive quality of life in autistic adults. Darren flips the lens: inner assets matter too.
Nah et al. (2018) screened adults at one point and saw high anxiety and depression. Darren tracked the same people for twelve months and saw little change, suggesting symptoms are stable once work begins.
Why it matters
You can’t fix depression after it blooms if the soil stays the same. Darren says boost well-being on day one. Add brief strengths-based goals to your job-coaching plan. A five-minute mood check at intake can flag who needs extra coping tools before stress hits.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) commonly experience poor outcomes in adulthood. Previous research on adult outcomes has focused on negative aspects of health and well-being, while positive well-being remains understudied. The current study charted 12-month change in daily living skills, job satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and positive well-being in 36 (32 male) newly employed adults with ASD aged 18 to 57 years who were participating in a supported employment program. There was a small increase in daily living skills, and a slight decrease in job satisfaction, with all other measures remaining stable over time. Regression analyses revealed that, controlling for baseline depression, positive well-being negatively predicted depression at follow-up. No significant predictors of anxiety were identified. Social support and depression at baseline were associated with positive well-being at follow-up; however, they were no longer significant predictors after the effects of baseline positive well-being were taken into account. The findings provide evidence that positive well-being may buffer against depression in people with ASD. Our finding of stability of mental health and well-being measures over time indicates more research is required to uncover the mechanisms underpinning mental health and well-being outcomes in employed adults with ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 482-494 © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: People with autism commonly experience poor outcomes in adulthood. We studied mental health and well-being in newly employed adults with autism who were participating in a supported employment program. Apart from a slight increase in daily living skills and a slight decrease in job satisfaction, other measures of mental health and well-being remained stable over time. Our findings suggest that positive well-being may protect against symptoms of depression in people with autism.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019 · doi:10.1002/aur.2064