A cross-cultural exploration of the everyday social participation of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in Australia and Taiwan: An experience sampling study

Abstract

Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder commonly have limited social participation. This study aimed to examine the similarities and differences of everyday participation among males and females with autism spectrum disorder in Australia and Taiwan, using an experience sampling methodology. A total of 14 Australians (4 males, aged 16-43 years) and 16 Taiwanese (12 males, aged 19-45 years) with autism spectrum disorder who are cognitively able were asked to carry a device which prompted them seven times per day for 7 days, to record everyday participation: where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with. Multilevel analyses were used to identify the relationships between everyday participation and associated factors including gender, country of residence, clinical severity of autism spectrum disorder, and social anxiety. The results showed that Taiwanese participants were more likely to stay at home than Australian participants. However, female participants were more likely to engage in social situations than males. Furthermore, participants with fewer autism spectrum disorder symptoms and those with higher levels of social anxiety were less likely to engage in social interactions. This study sheds light on ways that culture and gender affect social participation and highlights the relationship of social anxiety to social participation. The findings have implications for interventions for social participation.

Understanding loneliness and social relationships in autism: The reflections of autistic adults

“…The experience of loneliness and isolation emerges as a consistent theme in current studies of autistic adults'1 well-being and experience of social support and social relationships (Baldwin & Costley, 2016;Causton-Theoharis, Ashby, & Cosier, 2009;Chen, Bundy, Cordier, Chien, & Einfeld, 2017;Griffith, Totsika, Nash, & Hastings, 2012;Milton & Sims, 2016;Müller, Schuler, & Yates, 2008). High degrees of experienced loneliness are reported for autistic adults (Mazurek, 2014) and the prevalence of experienced loneliness is higher for autistic children and adolescents when compared to non-autistic individuals (e.g.…”

“…persistent difficulties in social communication and social interaction as well as restrictive, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interest or activities. It has so far been a consistent finding and conclusion that the core characteristics of autism may be risk factors for more limited social networks (Chen et al, 2017;Merkler, 2007) and potentially also loneliness (Lasgaard et al, 2010;Merkler, 2007). However, more information is needed on how autistic adults understand the concept of loneliness and whether the general theoretical understanding of loneliness is adequate for the experience and understanding of autistic adults.…”

Capturing everyday experiences of typically developing children aged five to seven years: A feasibility study of experience sampling methodology

“…The advantage of ESM is that it is flexible and can allow surveys to be short and straightforward with minimal cognitive burden, unlike responses retrieved from interviews (Hektner et al). ESM has been applied to a range of populations to measure wellbeing, quality of life and social interactions (Chen, Bundy, Cordier, Chien & Einfeld, 2016a;Chen, Bundy, Cordier & Einfeld, 2014;Walz, Nauta & Aan Het Rot, 2014;Whalen, Jamner, Henker, Delfino & Lozano, 2002). Traditionally, ESM was conducted via conventional pen and paper reporting (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson).…”

A conceptual framework for understanding the cultural and contextual factors on autism across the globe

“…Little is known about how these cross-cultural and contextual differences may affect the degree of impairment induced by symptoms characteristic for ASD. Chen et al (Chen, Bundy, Cordier, Chien, & Einfeld, 2017) compared everyday social participation of autistic individuals in Australia and Taiwan and reported that with similar ASD severity levels Taiwanese participants were more likely to stay at home compared to Australian participants, suggesting that cultural context may shape the degree of participation in day-to-day activities.…”