Shyness, Sociability, and Social Dysfunction in Adults with Autism

Background: Although impairment in social functioning is a core characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little attention has been paid to whether individual differences in personality may underlie such impairments and account for the variability in social outcomes. One logical personality trait to examine is shyness. Schmidt, Polak and Spooner (2005) have proposed a vulnerability model in which early biological and behavioral antecedents of shyness identifiable in infants and young children are linked to sensitivity of forebrain limbic and frontal cortical areas, and produce dysfunction in one’s ability to regulate social stress. Objectives: We examined the relation between features of autism and shyness, sociability, and social dysfunction. Methods: High-functioning adults (n = 29) with autism/ASD and matched controls (n = 29) completed questionnaires examining ASD features (Autism Spectrum Quotient; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), components of personality (Cheek and Buss Shyness and Sociability Scale; Cheek & Buss, 1981; and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Version; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1991), and anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory; Beck & Steer, 1990). Results: As expected, individuals with ASD had significantly higher scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient than controls, indicating behavior characteristic of ASD. Individuals with ASD also reported a significantly higher degree of shyness (p = .0005) and neuroticism (i.e., a predisposition to anxiety; p = .002), and a lower degree of sociability (p = .041) and extraversion (p = .047) than individuals in the control group. Correlations among measures (all p’s < .05) within the ASD group revealed that shyness was associated with less sociability (r = -.45), poor social skills (r = .68), poor communication skills (r = .53), difficulty switching attention (r = .47), anxiety symptoms (r = .39), high neuroticism (r = .60) and low extraversion (r = -.69). Difficulty switching attention in ASD was also associated with poor communication (r = .47) and anxiety symptoms (r = .54). Conclusions: Individuals with ASD reported significantly greater shyness and reduced sociability than controls. We also provide evidence that within the ASD group there is a link among trait shyness and impairments in social interaction and communication, anxiety, and difficulty switching attention. Individual differences in early-developing personality traits may not only explain the variability in social outcomes in ASD, but also serve to identify early in life those at highest risk for co-morbid anxiety and mood disorders.