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Project

Coming of age: a multi-method inquiry into young adulthood & autism

Young adulthood is a developmental stage in which changes in occupation, place of residence, and relationships take place, and decisions that shape the rest of adult life are made.  To make these decisions, young adults typically experiment and relate to their peers to shape their identities. The self is found out not only through experimentation and exploration, but also reflected back in the eyes of the other. A group that has problems with changes and social relationships, are young adults with autism spectrum disorder (autism).  They are vulnerable to depressive and anxiety symptoms, yet little is known about autism could impact their development in this life stage, or how these symptoms could come into being.

In a first study, young adults with autism, their parents, and health care workers were invited into conversation to better understand relevant themes for young adults with autism. They emphasized the importance of supportive social relationships, and high vulnerability to anxiety caused by the uncertainty inherent to this stage of transitions. The impact of autism was negotiated both internally, in psychological processes, as externally, in overt interactions with their social environments. These dynamic processes influence each other, and support the conceptualization of identity as a dialectic process more than a static internal concept. As such, the diagnosis of autism, as well as its symptoms, add complication to the core developmental task during young adulthood, which is influenced by many layers of interaction. For example, parents also negotiated autism with their environments, which, in turn, would influence the way they responded to their young adult with autism, who then, finally, internalized parental attitudes towards symptoms of autism.  From the transcripts of this first study, a second study more closely investigated the narratives of young adults with autism, in which social interactions and comparison to peers were more central themes. This analysis highlighted a dilemma between suppressing autism symptoms and being more successful in social relationships that are not based on one’s true self, or being authentic in interactions and embracing one’s autism, but then facing more isolation. 

Theorists recognize that there is a variety of demographic trajectories possible for young adults, yet the majority of research only focuses on college student samples. To identify differences between demographic groups, a Flemish version of the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood- questionnaire was first developed, and differences between young adults depending on their age, place of residence, occupational status, and romantic relationship status were highlighted.

Finally, the association between an autism diagnosis and developmental status was examined in matched groups of autistic young adults and their peers, and developmental status was predicted by both autistic traits and demographic markers. An autism diagnosis was not related to identity development, but different predictors of developmental status were identified in both groups. Reported experimentation and possibilities was associated with less autistic traits and not being in a relationship in the group with autism, but could not be predicted in the comparison group, suggesting a higher relevance of the former for young adults with autism. Higher levels of negativity were associated with the female gender in the comparison group, but only associated with autistic traits in the autism group. Finally, only occupational status was associated with reported commitment and responsibility in both groups, highlighting its central role in identity development.

Date:1 Oct 2015 →  1 Oct 2019
Keywords:autism, autism spectrum disorder, development, young adulthood
Disciplines:Orthopedagogics and special education, Biological and physiological psychology, General psychology, Other psychology and cognitive sciences
Project type:PhD project