The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults with autism: a survey study across three countries

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Background: Previous studies have reported a negative psychological and mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact is likely to be stronger for people with autism as they are at heightened risk of mental health problems and because the pandemic directly affects social functioning and everyday routines. We therefore examined COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in mental health, the impact of the pandemic on their social life and routines, satisfaction with pandemic-related information and tips, and participants’ wishes for guidance. Methods: We used a mixed-method approach, collecting quantitative and qualitative survey data from adults with and without autism across three European countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK (N = 1044). Results: We found an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms in response to the pandemic for both the non-autism and the autism group, which was greater for adults with autism. Furthermore, adults with autism showed a greater increase in worries about their pets, work, getting medication and food, and their own safety/security. They felt more relieved from social stress, yet experienced the loss of social contact as difficult. Adults with autism also felt more stressed about the loss of routines. Pleasant changes noted by adults with autism were the increase in solidarity and reduced sensory and social overload. Adults with autism frequently reported problems with cancellation of guidance due to the pandemic and expressed their wish for (more) autism-specific information and advice. Limitations: Our sample is likely to reflect some degree of selection bias, and longitudinal studies are needed to determine long-term effects. Conclusions: Results highlight the psychological burden of the pandemic on adults with autism and shed light on how to support them during this COVID-19 pandemic, which is especially important now that the pandemic is likely to have a prolonged course. There is a need for accessible, affordable (continued) support from health services. Guidance may focus on the maintenance of a social network, and adjusting routines to the rapid ongoing changes. Finally, we may learn from the COVID-19 pandemic-related changes experienced as pleasant by adults with autism to build a more autism-friendly society post-pandemic.

Original languageEnglish
Article number21
JournalMolecular Autism
Volume12
Issue number1
Number of pages21
ISSN2040-2392
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12.2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank all participants for their valuable contribution. We thank our colleagues from EXPLORA and Sam Peeters (expert by experience) for their feedback on the survey. We thank Dr. Maarten de Schryver (statistical consultant) for his help with the statistical analyses.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

    Research areas

  • Autism, COVID-19, Mental health, Pandemic
  • Psychology

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Anita Kliemann

Publications

  1. Post Hoc Assessment of Stand Structure Across European Wood-Pastures
  2. Die bachbegleitende Vegetation der Böhme
  3. Termination of life support measures in case of persons in permanent vegetative state.
  4. Freie Berufe im Wandel der Arbeitsmärkte
  5. Nachahmung
  6. A Longitudinal Study of Great Ape Cognition
  7. Anleitung zum Perspektivenwechsel
  8. Common opossum population density in an agroforestry system in Bolivia
  9. Реформировать Болонскую реформу Интервью с профессором Люнебургского университета, писателем Пьеранжело Масетом Проведение
  10. Hollis Frampton: Photographs
  11. Жизнь вне изоляции.
  12. Affect is King
  13. glUV
  14. Editorial
  15. Coming late for dinner
  16. Working time preferences and early and late retirement intentions
  17. The effect of voters’ economic perception, Brexit and campaigns on the evaluation of party leaders over time
  18. Die Landung
  19. Ordo-Responsibility
  20. Extensive Margins of Imports and Profitability
  21. Complexity cost management
  22. Characterization of dissimilar friction stir welded lap joints of AA5083 and GL D36 steel
  23. Who is responsible for corruption?
  24. Bo-NO-bouba-kiki
  25. Attention and Information Acquisition
  26. Taxonomic and functional changes in mountain meadow communities four years after transplantation to a lowland environment
  27. A stakeholder theory perspective on business models: Value creation for sustainability
  28. Web-Based and Mobile Stress Management Intervention for Employees
  29. Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement in Unternehmen
  30. The Serious and the Mundane
  31. A Cross-Industry Analysis of the Spillover Effect in Paid Search Advertising