Reactions to social exclusion in adolescents with ASD

Background: Individuals with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome often report feelings of loneliness and isolation (Hedley and Young 2006); they seek interaction with others, but are rebuffed due to their poor social skills (Attwood, 1998). This may contribute to high levels of comorbid mood disorders in this population (Tantam, 2000). However, no previous studies have explored how people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) respond to a single episode of experimentally induced social exclusion. Therefore, it is as yet unclear whether theories of social exclusion developed using non-autistic populations are applicable to the experience of individuals with ASD.

Objectives: Adolescence is a time of social and emotional challenge, during which peer relationships become increasingly important (Howlin, 2003). This is also a key time for intervention, when patterns of social interaction are not yet fixed. We therefore focus on adolescents with ASD in the present study.

Methods: The method was identical to that used in a previous study by our group. In this study, typically-developing adolescents and adults played an internet-based experimental social exclusion manipulation (Cyberball).  Affective and cognitive reactions to being included/excluded from the Cyberball game were then measured. The current study compared 12 high-functioning adolescent males with ASD, and 12 matched controls.    

Results: The previous study found that adolescents reported greater anxiety and lower mood after exclusion than adults, while non-affective appraisals and performance on a reaction time measure did not differ between groups. This suggests that typically-developing adolescents are hypersensitive to the affective consequences of social exclusion, possibly because neural structures involved in emotion regulation are still maturing (Nelson et al., 2005). We will report novel data on the same paradigm from adolescents with ASD.

Conclusions: We hope to shed light on whether social exclusion has similar affective consequences for adolescents with ASD as in typically-developing adolescents.