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Satisfaction with social connectedness is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in neurodiverse first-semester college students - PubMed

. 2024 Aug;28(8):1972-1984.

doi: 10.1177/13623613231216879. Epub 2024 Feb 21.

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Satisfaction with social connectedness is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in neurodiverse first-semester college students

Erin E McKenney et al. Autism. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

How satisfied people feel with their social connections and support is related to mental health outcomes for many different types of people. People may feel less socially connected at some times in their life-like when they start college. Feeling disconnected from others could lead to depression or anxiety. The transition to college may be especially difficult for autistic students as they are more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially. In our study, we asked 263 college students to answer questions about their emotions and social satisfaction twice per week during their first semester of college. We found that students who reported being less satisfied with their social connectedness (either at the beginning or throughout the semester) tended to express more symptoms of depression and anxiety. This relationship between social satisfaction and anxiety was even stronger for people who had a strong desire for social interaction (i.e. were more socially motivated). Students with more autistic traits tended to report more mood concerns, and they also reported being less satisfied with friendships at the beginning of the semester. This information may help to support ongoing efforts to better address mental health in autistic college students by encouraging efforts to improve social satisfaction.

Keywords: adults; anxiety; autism spectrum disorders; depression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Relationship between baseline satisfaction with social connectedness (NIH Toolbox Friendship Measure) and BDI-II scores, depending on ACIPS score. NIH Friendship = NIH Toolbox Friendship Measure (Cyranowski et al., 2013); BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (Beck et al., 1996); ACIPS = Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (Gooding & Pflum, 2014).

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Relationship between baseline satisfaction with social connectedness (NIH Toolbox Friendship Measure) and GAD-7 scores at baseline, depending on ACIPS score. NIH Friendship = NIH Toolbox Friendship Measure (Cyranowski et al., 2013); GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (Spitzer et al., 2006); ACIPS = Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (Gooding & Pflum, 2014).

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