Friendship Expectations May be Similar for Mental Age-Matched Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 49; no. 10; pp. 4346 - 4354
• Main Authors: Bottema-Beutel, Kristen, Malloy, Caitlin, Cuda, Josephine, Kim, So Yoon, MacEvoy, Julie Paquette
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Altruism; Appreciation; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autistic children; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Beliefs, opinions and attitudes; Brief Report; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child development; Child, Preschool; Childhood friendship; Correlation; Elementary School Students; Expectation; Female; Friends; Friendship; Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5; Helping Relationship; Humans; Intimacy; Kindness; Loneliness; Male; Mental age; Motivation; Neurosciences; Pediatrics; Peer Relationship; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychology; Public Health; Reciprocity; Reliability; Self Concept; Selfworth; Social aspects; Trust (Psychology); United States; Loneliness; Friendship quality; Friendships; Autism spectrum disorder; Friendship expectations
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04141-7

We assessed 3rd–5th grade children’s endorsement of 12 friendship expectations, in two mental age-matched ( M  = 10.15 years) groups; one with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n  = 20) and one with typical development (TD; n  = 21). Groups rated friendship expectations similarly for all but one expectation, expressing care, which received significantly higher ratings in the ASD group. Overall expectation ratings were significantly and positively correlated with friendship quality in the ASD group ( r  = 0.43), but not the TD, group ( r  = 0.08). Expectations were not correlated with loneliness or self-worth in either group. In children with ASD, expectations pertaining to reliability/trust, kindness/caring, and help/reciprocity were rated highest, followed by togetherness/amusement, and finally by intimacy/disclosure.