ArticleHealth psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association2021
Lifetime and perceived stress, social support, loneliness, and health in autistic adults.
Article in Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Outcomes of Experiencing Interpersonal Violence in Autism: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the landscape of adult autism research in psychology: a bibliometric and network analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Autism, Obesity, and PTSD Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Analysis of National Medicaid Claims Data.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Sleep Problems and Mental Health in Middle-Aged and Older Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2026Article
- Beyond Age: Exploring Health Literacy, Well-Being, and Stress Management Among the Elderly.Western journal of nursing research · 2026Article
- A Cross-Neurotype Analysis of Camouflaging and Illness Perceptions in People with Central Sensitivity Syndromes.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Substance Use Disorder Outcomes and Treatment by Autism Status in Medicaid Enrollees With Substance Use Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Social Novelty Recruits a Dysfunctional Nucleus Accumbens Ensemble That Drives Social Avoidance in abioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Social Network Types in Autistic Adults and Its Associations with Mastery, Quality of Life, and Autism Characteristics.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder in autistic and non-autistic adults: The impact of appraisals on reactions to traumatic events.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- The Role of Demographic and Autism Specific Factors on the Level of Depression in Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Traumatic Experiences, Psychological Distress and Suicide-Related Behaviors in Autistic Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- A Narrative Review of Cardiovascular Health in Autistic Individuals: Epidemiologic Evidence, Mechanistic Pathways, and Future Directions.Current epidemiology reports · 2026Review
- Differences in needs and availability of healthcare, education and social protection between school-age children and youth with autistic spectrum disorder and their families in Serbia.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2026Article
- User experiences of the mobile stress autism mate (SAM) application: a qualitative study among autistic adults not receiving mental health care.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Self-harm and suicidality experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults in midlife and old age.Molecular autism · 2025Article
- Development of a Conceptual Model of Loneliness in Verbal Autistic Adults Using Qualitative Content Analyses.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Camouflaging Autism in Pursuit of Friendship and Intimate Relationships: A Systematic Review.Autism in adulthood · 2025Review
- Obstetric Care and Pregnancy Health in Autistic Individuals and Those with Other Developmental Disabilities in an Integrated Healthcare Setting in California.Autism in adulthood · 2025Article
- Prospective Memory Performance of Autistic Adults in Everyday Life: The Role of Stress and Motivation.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAlthough the health consequences of life stress exposure in the general population are well known, how different stressors occurring over the lifetime cause morbidity and mortality in autism is unclear, as are the factors that moderate and mediate these associations. The few studies that have compared autistic and nonautistic individuals have used instruments that yield few stress exposure indices and assess stressors occurring over short time periods.
methodTo address these issues, we used the Stress and Adversity Inventory to assess lifetime stressor exposure and perceived stressor severity in 127 autistic and 104 nonautistic adults. Moderated mediation analysis examined associations between stressor exposure and physical and mental ill-health with respect to the hypothesized mediating role of stressor perception, and moderation effects of loneliness and social support.
resultsAutistic adults experienced more lifetime stressors and generally perceived stressors as being more severe. Greater perceived stressor severity was related to poorer physical and mental health and to greater loneliness and lower social support for both groups. An additional post hoc analysis of the association between diagnostic status and mental ill-health revealed that loneliness mediated the relation between being autistic and having poorer mental health.
conclusionAutistic individuals experienced more lifetime stressors, and their impact on physical and mental health was mediated by perceived stressor severity. Moreover, loneliness and low social support were associated with greater negative impact of lifetime stress exposure on mental health. Interventions that reduce cognitive-perceptual stress appraisals, and that target loneliness and social support, may help reduce risk for stress-related disease in autistic individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.