Abstract
Individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) are hypersocial, overfriendly, and experience social skills deficits that may adversely impact their social outcomes. This study examined the relation between social skills, friendship quality, and feelings of loneliness for adults with WS as reported by 114 parent-adult with WS dyads. Results indicate that although most friends do not live close-by, adults with WS have good quality friendships and do not report high feelings of loneliness. Positive friendship qualities were found to partially mediate the relationship between social skills impairments and social feelings of loneliness. Findings indicate that although adults with WS experience social skills deficits and struggle to maintain friendships in their immediate community, they still report positive friendship qualities and low feelings of loneliness.
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MHF conceived of and developed the study, collected the data, and drafted the manuscript. CKJ drafted the introduction and data analysis sections. CMS performed the statistical analyses and was involved in drafting the discussion. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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M.H. Fisher, C.K. Josol, and C.M. Shivers declares that they have no conflict of interest.
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Fisher, M.H., Josol, C.K. & Shivers, C.M. An Examination of Social Skills, Friendship Quality, and Loneliness for Adults with Williams Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 3649–3660 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04416-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04416-4