Isabella Malouf, 2017
A substantial body of research supports the idea that human beings need to belong and unmet need to belong can lead to unhappiness and psychopathology. Autistic individuals are often stereotyped as lacking in social interest and, hence, in the need to belong. However, the extent to which they experience the need to belong and its consequences if the need is unmet is not well understood.
We investigated whether autistic adults experience the need to belong in the same way as typical adults and its relationship with loneliness. Participants (87 autistic and 205 typical adults) completed a survey in which we measured need to belong, loneliness, and satisfaction with personal relationships.
The findings indicated that autistic and typical adults have a similar need to belong. Sadly, unmet need to belong was higher for autistic adults and correlated strongly with loneliness. These results challenge the idea that autistic individuals have a diminished need to belong. It is imperative that the high level of loneliness among autistic individual is recognised and addressed.
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