How Autistic Adults Cope with Loneliness: What Helps and What Doesn’t?

Abstract

Background:

Loneliness—a subjective experience of social isolation—is a major public health concern, as loneliness correlates with mental and physical health problems. Autistic adults are more likely to experience loneliness than nonautistic adults. However, we do not know much about how autistic adults cope with loneliness.

Methods:

This study involved focus groups and one-on-one interviews with autistic adults (n = 13), as well as autism professionals (n = 5). Our team used qualitative content analysis to code transcripts for (1) strategies used by autistic adults to cope with loneliness, and (2) perceived helpfulness of coping strategies.

Results:

Autistic adults commonly reported using problem-solving (e.g., seeking social contact) and accommodation (e.g., finding distractions)-coping strategies. Autism professionals frequently identified instrumental aid (e.g., seeking help from a mental health expert) strategies as methods that their autistic clients used and/or might find helpful when coping with loneliness. Although the perceived helpfulness of each strategy varied between individuals, overall, autistic adults found seeking social contact as the most helpful coping strategy.

Conclusion:

The study has the potential to impact the autistic community by identifying instrumental actions as helpful coping mechanisms that autistic people may wish to use to address loneliness, particularly through digital modes of communication with close relationships. Autistic adults did not find all coping strategies to be universally helpful or unhelpful. Prioritizing individual preferences of autistic adults remains critical when designing tailored supports for autistic adults coping with loneliness.

Community Brief

Why is this an important issue?

Loneliness is common and can result in serious mental and physical health issues. Many autistic adults feel lonely. We do not know much about how they cope with loneliness.

What was the purpose of this study?

We aimed to better understand how autistic adults cope with loneliness. We also wanted to find out about how useful they perceived their coping strategies to be.

What did the researchers do?

We spoke with 13 autistic adults and 5 autism-focused professionals about coping with loneliness. During these sessions, we asked participants open-ended questions. Participants were free to answer in as much detail or as broadly as they liked. We used transcripts from these discussions to identify patterns in how participants responded.

What were the results and conclusions of the study?

We found that autistic adults use a variety of coping strategies, some more useful than others. Most autistic adults said they used temporary distraction strategies. Most autism professionals said their autistic clients sought help from therapists or mental health professionals as a useful coping strategy. Both autistic adults and autism professionals said that reaching out to another person, such as a close friend or family member, seemed to be most helpful for coping with loneliness.

What is new or controversial about these findings?

We know from previous studies that loneliness is problematic for autistic adults, but we do not know much about how autistic adults cope with feeling lonely. We are only aware of one study that has explored this topic. The current study builds on this previous one by asking participants directly about which coping strategies they used and how useful they were. We also included the perspectives of autism professionals.

What are potential weaknesses in the study?

This study included a small number of participants, including autistic adults and professionals who worked with autistic adults. Participants were not very diverse in terms of gender or racial/ethnic identity. The study also did not include autistic individuals who require more daily support or use nonspeaking modes of communication.

How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?

Our findings can help autistic adults by improving understanding of how some autistic adults cope with loneliness. This knowledge may help autistic adults who feel lonely make decisions about which coping strategies to try.