Autism-Open Access
Open Access

Social Isolation in Autistic Adults and their Self-Destructive Behavior

Harkins Rollins^{* *}Correspondence: Harkins Rollins, Department of Sociology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada, Email:

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Description

Social isolation can include both subjective and objective factors. The degree of social interaction that a person actually has, such as the frequency of that contact, the number of people in their social network, and/or whether they live alone, are all examples of objective social isolation. Contrarily, subjective social isolation includes ideas like perceived social support and is related to how many or how well-developed social interactions are considered to be as a form of subjective social isolation. Whether loneliness is multidimensional or unidimensional is still up for dispute. According to studies, one of the most well-known multidimensional conceptualizations of loneliness, there are three dimensions of loneliness: intimate loneliness, relational loneliness, and collective loneliness. Intimate loneliness refers to the perceived absence of someone significant and emotionally close to the individual (such as a spouse); relational loneliness refers to the perceived absence of the people who are relatively close (such as friends, family); and collective loneliness refers to the perceived absence of all other people (e.g. national identity). The outcomes of loneliness are varied but often include mental health issues.

Perhaps since early accounts of autism highlighted how autistic people prefer to be alone, loneliness has been relatively neglected in the field of autism research. For instance, researchers noted that one of his autistic patients was happiest when left alone and that autistic people have a "strong feeling for aloneness". Asperger added that "humans typically live in constant interaction with their surroundings and react to it continuously". However, "autists" have significantly reduced interaction and seriously damaged it.

These ideas have evolved over time. Even though they may struggle with social engagement, many autistic persons are known to be interested in making connections with other people. Research on loneliness in autistic people has also drawn more attention recently. Research has indicated that autistic children suffer loneliness more severely and frequently than their nonautistic peers, with a tendency to concentrate on youngsters and teenagers. Additionally, it appears that autistic children also seem to experience loneliness qualitatively differently from their non-autistic peers. For instance, research has shown that although non-autistic children identify loneliness in terms of both emotional and social-cognitive loneliness, autistic children only consider being alone when defining loneliness. With many autistic children reported to have low levels of friendship quality and to be on the outside of their school social networks, other study has suggested that having lack of friends is to be a key indicator for loneliness. Although neither autistic nor nonautistic children tend to experience loneliness in relation to their understanding of friendship, poor friendship quality and/or being excluded from school social networks may contribute to social withdrawal, isolation, and loneliness in adolescence.

The effects of early loneliness experiences in autistic individuals are poorly understood. However, there are various grounds to believe that loneliness will linger for autistic persons their entire lives. First of all, a dearth of social connections is frequently linked to loneliness, and autistic persons frequently report struggling with social involvement and social contact. Second, as adults leave the required social environment of school, the workplace may serve as a significant source for social interaction training. However, studies have repeatedly demonstrated that compared to other handicap categories, autistic people have lower employment rates. Finally, as autistic people age, the availability of support services for them sharply declines. Many autistic adults and their caregivers are also unaware of the social supports that are accessible to them.

Conclusion

The study of loneliness in adults with autism is only getting started. It emphasizes how, whether a person is autistic or not, loneliness and the need for social connection are universal human experiences. It has not been determined whether the mechanisms behind loneliness in autistic adults differ from those in the non-autistic population, even though the effects of loneliness in this population seem to be similar to those in the non-autistic population. To learn more about loneliness in autistic individuals, further study is required, with a particular focus on the variety of samples and the methods used to quantify loneliness, and the interactions considered in relation to loneliness.