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Friendship Satisfaction in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Nominated Friends

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Abstract

The current study examined the level of friendship satisfaction of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their nominated friends (with and without diagnosis of ASD). A total of 77 target children with ASD and friends from 49 nominated friendships participated in the study. Relatively high levels of friendship satisfaction were reported by both target children and their nominated friends with no overall difference between dyads involving typically developing friends and friends with ASD. Analysis at the individual dyad level showed a high level of agreement on the reported level of satisfaction across the target participants and their friends. Limitations and directions for future research are presented.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP110200175 (“Autism Educational Outcomes Study”) in conjunction with Autism Spectrum Australia and Autism SA.

Author Contributions

NP conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript; MC conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and assisted in drafting the manuscript, JS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and assisted in drafting the manuscript, NS performed the statistical analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Neysa Petrina, Mark Carter, Jennifer Stephenson & Naomi Sweller

Authors
  1. Neysa Petrina
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  2. Mark Carter
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  3. Jennifer Stephenson
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  4. Naomi Sweller
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Correspondence to Neysa Petrina.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Petrina, N., Carter, M., Stephenson, J. et al. Friendship Satisfaction in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Nominated Friends. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 384–392 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2970-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2970-7

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