Subjective wellbeing of autistic adolescents and young adults: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) represents an individual's perception of wellness that is supported by homeostatic mechanisms. These mechanisms are proposed to be maintained by low negative affect and high positive affect, although less is known about these mechanisms and SWB in autism. The current cross‐sectional study aimed to compare patterns of positive affect, negative affect (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale), and SWB (Personal Wellbeing Index‐School Children) between autistic (n = 53) and non‐autistic (n = 49) individuals aged 10–22 years (Mage = 13.97, SD = 3.13). Between‐group t‐tests revealed that compared with same‐age peers, autistic participants scored lower SWB overall (p < 0.001). In both groups average SWB scores fell into the higher range, however, autistic participants were three‐times more likely to fall below this range when compared to non‐autistic participants. Negative affect had a higher intercept in the autistic sample, but no difference in slopes were observed. A hierarchical multiple regression revealed that diagnosis, positive affect, and negative affect significantly predicted SWB in our sample. Between‐group t‐tests found no significant difference in positive affect or negative affect across age between the autistic and non‐autistic samples. In autistic participants, positive affect increased across age as SWB decreased, whilst negative affect remained stable, a pattern inconsistent with homeostatic SWB. The current study is overall consistent with the homeostatic explanation for SWB within autism; however, we identified potential differences between autistic and non‐autistic participants in the contribution of positive affect and negative affect to homeostatic protect mood across development.