Longitudinal Impact of the Pandemic on Social Disruption and Loneliness in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth.
Alan H GerberJennifer KeluskarMatthew D LernerPublished in: Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53 (2023)
The current study was one of the first to investigate social disruption and loneliness in autistic youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that autistic youth experienced relative decreases in loneliness during this time, perhaps due to reductions in social demands. Nonetheless, when autistic youth did experience social disruption, they reported relatively higher levels of loneliness. This work contributes to our understanding of risk factors for loneliness and highlights the need to understand the benefits, as well as the challenges, to remote schooling and social interactions.