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Social Anxiety and Shame Among Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Typical Adults

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Abstract

Social anxiety (SA) is common among young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While shame feelings predict SA among typical adults, the relationship between shame and SA in ASD remains unclear. The current study compared the relationship between SA and shame in ASD. SA, shame, and autistic self-assessment questionnaires were administered to 33 young adults with ASD (28 M/5F) and 38 typical young adults (32 M/6F, Mage = 24 years, range = 20–28 in both groups). Results showed higher SA levels in ASD than typical adults, but lower levels of shame characteristics in the former than in the latter group. Moreover, a significant moderation model showed that some aspects of shame were related to SA only in the typical group but not in ASD.

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Acknowledgments

The present research was facilitated by the help of Gvanim community members, an organization providing social integration opportunities for autistic young adults.

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The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Max & Anna Webb St, 5290002, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Meyrav Gaziel-Guttman & Nira Mashal

  2. Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Max & Anna Webb St, 5290002, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    David Anaki

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  1. Meyrav Gaziel-Guttman
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Meyrav Gaziel-Guttman. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Meyrav Gaziel-Guttman and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Bar-Ilan University School of Education institutional ethics committee (#195-2020).

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Gaziel-Guttman, M., Anaki, D. & Mashal, N. Social Anxiety and Shame Among Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Typical Adults. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 2490–2498 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05526-x

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