Theory of Mind Mediates the Association Between Autistic Traits and Social Isolation in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.
Poor theory-of-mind skills partly explain why autistic traits increase social isolation in midlife and older adults.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lo et al. (2025) asked if poor theory of mind helps explain why adults with more autistic traits feel more socially isolated.
They tested middle-aged and older adults with and without autism. Each person filled out trait questionnaires, took false-belief tests, and answered how alone they feel.
What they found
Higher autistic traits predicted greater social isolation. About half of that link ran through weaker theory-of-mind scores.
In plain words: trouble reading minds partly explains why autistic traits lead to loneliness later in life.
How this fits with other research
Stice et al. (2019) found the same mediation pattern in college students, but used loneliness instead of ToM. Together the studies show the idea holds across age groups.
Boucher (2012) warned that ToM tasks alone poorly explain autism social problems. Man’s data do not overturn that warning; they simply show ToM still matters for isolation in ageing.
Werner et al. (2025) add that for autistic youth, the emotional quality of social moments drives loneliness, not time spent with peers. Man extends this thread by pointing to a cognitive skill—mindreading—as a further piece of the puzzle in midlife and beyond.
Why it matters
If you serve autistic adults or clients with high traits, check how well they read subtle social cues. Brief ToM probes during intake can flag people at risk for isolation. Pair social groups with explicit perspective-taking coaching. Even small improvements in mindreading may shrink the loneliness gap as clients age.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add one false-belief or perspective-taking question to your adult intake and use the result to plan social-cognition goals.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Social isolation has detrimental effects on wellbeing. While isolation can occur at any age, its prevalence has been found to increase in older adulthood. Populations with social functioning differences, such as autistic people, have also been found to be at particular risk of isolation across the lifespan, including in older age. Despite the widespread impacts of isolation, little is known about the underlying factors that may contribute to social isolation in autistic people and the general populations. While social isolation has been linked to autistic traits and theory of mind (ToM), no study has yet considered their inter-relationship. Taking a dimensional approach to autistic traits, this study examined the association between autistic traits (assessed by the AQ-10), ToM (CarToM and Frith-Happé Triangles) and social isolation (Lubben Social Connectedness Scale) among 111 adults (n = 53 autistic, 58 non-autistic), aged 40-86 years. The study also assessed the putative mediating role of ToM in the association between autistic traits and isolation. Pearson correlational analyses showed middle-aged and older adults with higher social connectedness reported fewer autistic traits and showed better performance in ToM tasks, even when accounting for the effect of age and mental health symptoms. Mediation analyses suggested the association between autistic traits and social isolation was partially mediated by ToM when age and mental health symptoms were accounted for. These findings suggest one possible mechanism for the experience of social isolation. Additionally, the findings highlight that autistic people and people with high autistic traits may be particularly susceptible to social isolation in midlife and older age, and may benefit from additional support and possible interventions to maintain desired levels of social connectedness in later life.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2025 · doi:10.1002/aur.1620