Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40050632›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Loneliness and susceptibility to social pain mediate the association between autistic traits and psychotic experiences in young non-clinical adults.

Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Leila Sarra Chaibi, Amthal Alhuwailah, Fouad Sakr, Mai Helmy, Hanaa Ahmed Mohamed Shuwiekh, Nedjem Eddine Boudouda, Btissame Zarrouq, Abdallah Y Naser, Kamel Jebreen and 14 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Feten Fekih-RomdhaneFaculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia. feten.fekih@gmail.com.
Leila Sarra ChaibiFaculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia.
Amthal AlhuwailahDepartment of Psychology, Kuwait University, Kuwait, Kuwait.
Fouad SakrSchool of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Mai HelmyPsychology department, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Hanaa Ahmed Mohamed ShuwiekhDepartment of Psychology, Fayoum University, Faiyum, Egypt.
Nedjem Eddine BoudoudaUniversity 8 Mai 1945, Guelma, Algeria.
Btissame ZarrouqFaculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Research in Health Sciences, Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
Abdallah Y NaserDepartment of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan.
Kamel JebreenDepartment of Mathematics, Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie, Hebron, P766, State of Palestine.
Mohammed Lakhdar RoubiPsychology Department, College of Arts, University of Bahrain, P.O Box 32038, Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Abdul Rasool Bassam HassanDepartment of Pharmacy, Al Rafidain University College, Baghdad, Iraq.
Nisma MerdadPsychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah, 21478, Saudi Arabia.
Rizwana AminPsychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah, 21478, Saudi Arabia.
Inad NawajahMathematics Department, College of Science and Technology, Hebron University, Hebron, Palestine.
Ali Haider MohammedSchool of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Selangor, Malaysia.
Sinan Subhi FarhanDepartment of Anesthesia Techniques, Al Rafidain University College, Baghdad, Iraq.
Omar Abdulwahid AlAniDepartment of Pharmacy, Al Rafidain University College, Baghdad, Iraq.
Mariam DabbousDepartment of Psychology, Kuwait University, Kuwait, Kuwait.
Diana MalaebCollege of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Sahar ObeidSchool of Arts and Sciences, Social and Education Sciences Department, Lebanese American University, Jbeil, Lebanon.
Alexandre Andrade LochLaboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM 27), Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Majda CheourFaculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia.
Souheil HallitPsychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah, 21478, Saudi Arabia. souheilhallit@usek.edu.lb.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding of the mechanisms involved in the occurrence of psychotic experiences (PEs) in highly autistic individuals is crucial for identifying appropriate prevention and intervention strategies. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of susceptibility to social pain and loneliness in the relationship between autistic traits (ATs) and PEs in adults from the general population of 12 Arab countries. This cross-sectional study is part of a large-scale multi-country research project. A total of 7646 young adults (age range 18-35 years, mean age of 22.55 ± 4.00 years and 75.5% females) from twelve Arab countries (i.e., Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, and Tunisia) were included. Mediation analyses showed that, after adjusting over confounding variables, both loneliness (indirect effect: Beta = 0.18; Boot SE = 0.02; Boot CI 0.14; 0.21) and social pain (indirect effect: Beta = 0.03; Boot SE = 0.01; Boot CI 0.001; 0.05) partially mediated the association between ATs and PEs. Higher ATs were significantly associated with more loneliness and susceptibility to social pain, and directly associated with more severe PEs. Finally, higher loneliness and susceptibility to social pain were significantly associated with greater PEs scores. Findings indicated that individuals with higher ATs tend to experience greater loneliness and feel more pain from rejection, which can in turn be associated with higher levels of PEs. Interventions targeting susceptibility to social pain and loneliness as a means of mitigating PEs among highly autistic adults should be considered.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderLonelinessPsychotic DisordersAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultAdultsAutistic traitsGeneral populationLonelinessMediationPsychotic experiencesSocial pain

Identifiers

PMID40050632
PMCPMC11885614

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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.