Social Capital and Autism in Young Adulthood: Applying Social Network Methods to Measure the Social Capital of Autistic Young Adults.

Elizabeth Mcghee Hassrick,Laura Graham Holmes,Jessica Walton,Collette Sosnowy,Paul T Shattuck

doi:10.1089/aut.2019.0058

Elizabeth Mcghee Hassrick, Laura Graham Holmes + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2019.0058

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Abstract

Social isolation is a core challenge associated with autism. Interpersonal relationships and the resources and support embedded in the social networks of autistic young adults could impact key adult outcomes, including quality of life, mental health, employment, and independence. However, little research systematically measures the networks of autistic young adults and network impact on key adult outcomes. This article demonstrates how social network analysis can be adapted for the field of autism to measure young adult networks. We provide examples as to how this approach could be implemented to yield key insights into the amount and quality of interpersonal relationships and the types of resources embedded in the networks of autistic young adults. The network protocol was feasibility tested with autistic adults during the posthigh school transition period (n = 17, 19–27 years). The parents of three of the recruited young adults also successfully completed a complementary network survey, allowing for the inclusion of the parent-reported network using duocentric network analysis, never before applied to parent–child networks. The implementation data collected from the study suggest feasibility of egocentric and duocentric approaches, with several important modifications to adapt the measure for the field of autism. The future potential of social network research for understanding autism in adulthood is discussed.

Highlights

The social isolation of people on the autism spectrum is a concern shared by multiple stakeholder groups including autistic advocates, caregivers, and providers
We provide examples as to how this approach could be implemented to yield key insights into the amount and quality of interpersonal relationships and the types of resources embedded in the networks of autistic young adults
To demonstrate how to do this, we describe a social network protocol designed to map the networks of autistic young adults and systematically characterize their interpersonal relationships and social capital

Summary

Introduction

The social isolation of people on the autism spectrum is a concern shared by multiple stakeholder groups including autistic advocates, caregivers, and providers. Across societal institutions including schools, health care organizations, businesses, and community organizations, stakeholders share a common challenge to create inclusive social contexts wherein autistic people have opportunities to forge highquality interpersonal relationships. Many autistic young adults are disconnected from contexts beyond the home where they could create meaningful social ties with peers, community members, or service providers. In the United States, about half of young adults on the spectrum are not engaged in postsecondary schooling or employment in the first 2 years after high school.[1] Their rate of disconnection from these adult social contexts is higher than for young adults with most other disabilities.[1,2] This represents a significant loss of opportunities to establish interpersonal relationships with friends, romantic partners, mentors, coaches, service providers, and colleagues, and to experience positive social outcomes such as belonging and social integration. Disconnection restricts access to valuable social capital that can help young adults achieve key adult outcomes, such as employment.[3,4,5,6,7]

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