TY - JOUR
T1 - Loneliness in autism and its association with anxiety and depression
T2 - A systematic review with meta-analyses
AU - Hymas, Becky
AU - Badcock, Jo
AU - Milne, Elizabeth
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - Objectives: This systematic review aimed to quantify differences in loneliness levels between autistic and neurotypical samples and investigate the association between loneliness and mental health in autistic individuals. Methods: Three meta-analyses were conducted. Studies were methodologically appraised using established tools. Results: Overall, 39 studies were included. The majority of these achieved moderate methodological quality ratings. The primary meta-analysis (N = 23) found autistic samples reported higher loneliness compared with neurotypical samples (Hedges’ g =.89). The meta-analyses on the associations between loneliness and anxiety (N = 14) and depression (N = 11) in autistic samples found significant pooled correlations (r =.29 and r =.48, respectively). Conclusions: This review highlights numerous limitations within current autism and loneliness research. Nevertheless, loneliness in autism merits targeted clinical and research attention. © 2022, The Author(s).
AB - Objectives: This systematic review aimed to quantify differences in loneliness levels between autistic and neurotypical samples and investigate the association between loneliness and mental health in autistic individuals. Methods: Three meta-analyses were conducted. Studies were methodologically appraised using established tools. Results: Overall, 39 studies were included. The majority of these achieved moderate methodological quality ratings. The primary meta-analysis (N = 23) found autistic samples reported higher loneliness compared with neurotypical samples (Hedges’ g =.89). The meta-analyses on the associations between loneliness and anxiety (N = 14) and depression (N = 11) in autistic samples found significant pooled correlations (r =.29 and r =.48, respectively). Conclusions: This review highlights numerous limitations within current autism and loneliness research. Nevertheless, loneliness in autism merits targeted clinical and research attention. © 2022, The Author(s).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134548688&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40489-022-00330-w
DO - 10.1007/s40489-022-00330-w
M3 - Review article
SN - 2195-7177
VL - 11
SP - 121
EP - 156
JO - Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
IS - 1
ER -