The Friendship Questionnaire, autism, and gender differences: a study revisited (original) (raw)
Related papers
2003
Friendship is an important part of normal social functioning, yet there are precious few instruments for measuring individual differences in this domain. In this article, we report a new selfreport questionnaire, the Friendship Questionnaire (FQ), for use with adults of normal intelligence. A high score on the FQ is achieved by the respondent reporting that they enjoy close, empathic, supportive, caring friendships that are important to them; that they like and are interested in people; and that they enjoy interacting with others for its own sake. The FQ has a maximum score of 135 and a minimum of zero. In Study 1, we carried out a study of n = 76 (27 males and 49 females) adults from a general population, to test for previously reported sex differences in friendships. This confirmed that women scored significantly higher than men. In Study 2, we employed the FQ with n = 68 adults (51 males, 17 females) with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism to test the theory that autism is an extreme form of the male brain. The adults with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism scored significantly lower on the FQ than both the male and female controls from Study 1. The FQ thus reveals both a sex difference in the style of friendship in the general population, and provides support for the extreme male brain theory of autism.
Interpersonal similarity of autistic traits predicts friendship quality
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2020
Autistic traits are known to be associated with social interaction difficulties. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, relevant research has been typically restricted to studying individuals. In line with the 'dialectical misattunement hypothesis' and clinical insights of intact social interactions among autistic individuals, we hypothesized that friendship quality varies as a function of interpersonal similarity and more concretely the difference value of autistic traits in a dyad, above and beyond autistic traits per se. Therefore, in this study, we used self-report questionnaires to investigate these measures in a sample of 67 neurotypical dyads across a broad range of autistic traits. Our results demonstrate that the more similar two persons are in autistic traits, the higher is the perceived quality of their friendship, irrespective of friendship duration, age, sex and, importantly, the (average of) autistic traits in a given dyad. More specifically, higher interpersonal similarity of autistic traits was associated with higher measures of closeness, acceptance and help. These results, therefore, lend support to the idea of an interactive turn in the study of social abilities across the autism spectrum and pave the way for future studies on the multiscale dynamics of social interactions.
Predicting friendship quality in autism spectrum disorders and typical development
Journal of autism and …, 2010
The role played by social relationship variables (attachment security; mother–child relationship qualities) and social-cognitive capacities (theory of mind) was examined in both observed friendship behaviors and in children’s descriptions of friendships (age 8–12) with high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) (n = 44) and with typical development (TYP) (n = 38). Overall, half of the HFASD sample (54.45%) reported maternal attachment security, corroborating data from younger children with ASD. The hypothesized predictors and their interrelations had both direct and indirect effects on friendship for both groups of children, highlighting the importance of these factors in children’s friendship development and suggesting both compensatory and amplification mechanisms for friendship qualities. Practical and clinical implications are discussed for friendship support in both ASD and TYP.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2024
their ability to engage in intimate and meaningful social interactions (Petrina et al., 2014). Given the importance of social relationships in development and quality of life and considering the known social difficulties associated with ASD, previous studies have examined the ability of cognitively able youth with ASD to establish social relationships (Bauminger & Kassari, 2000; Petrina et al., 2014). These studies compared children with ASD with neurotypical children and indicated that children with ASD can make friends (Bauminger & Kassari, 2000; Bauminger et al., 2008; Freeman et al., 2015). Similarities in developmental patterns of friendships (Bauminger et al., 2010), friendship expectations (Bottema-Beutel et al., 2019), satisfaction with relationships (Calder et al., 2012), and the desire to have friends (Mendelson et al., 2016) were described among children with ASD and neurotypical children. However, the friendship characteristics of children with ASD differed from those of age-matched neurotypical children in terms of the number of friends, frequency
2018
Objective: Friendship has an important role in the social life of adults. This study investigated the relationship between friendship and having a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in two cultural groups: White Western and East Asian. Method: Participants (N = 182) aged 18 to 30 years completed five online questionnaires to assess their perception of friendship (the quality of friendship, the importance given to friendship, and the feelings one has for a specific friend), their autism traits, and to collect demographic information. A principal component analysis revealed a single factor structure thus the three friendship questionnaires (Bukowski, FQ, and McGill) were computed into one variable. A 2 x 2 between-groups ANOVA was performed to investigate differences in composite friendship scores between the cultural groups and the ASD diagnosis groups. A Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess if there was a difference in AQ scores between the ASD diagnosis groups in order to validate the diagnoses. Results: There was not a significant interaction between cultural group, ASD diagnosis, and friendship scores. There were, however, significant differences in the friendship scores between the cultural groups and the ASD diagnosis groups. The highest scores were obtained by the non-ASD White Western group, followed by the non-ASD East Asian sample. The ASD East Asian participants had the lowest friendship scores. Conclusions: Although there was not a significant interaction between the three variables, the results suggest that perceptions of friendship vary between White Western and East Asian cultural groups as well as between those with and without ASD diagnoses.
Friendship in High-functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mixed and Non-mixed Dyads
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2007
Friendships containing a child with autism and a friend with typical development ("mixed" friendships, n = 26) and those of children with autism and a friend with a disability ("non-mixed," n = 16) were contrasted with friendships of typically developing subjects and their friends (n = 31). Measures included dyadic interaction samples, and interview and questionnaire data from subjects, friends, and parents. Mixed friendship interactions resembled typical friendships. Participants in mixed friendships were more responsive to one another, had stronger receptive language skills, exhibited greater positive social orientation and cohesion, and demonstrated more complex coordinated play than in the non-mixed dyads. Exposure to typical peers appears to have significant effects on friendship behaviors.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2015
This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the social motivation and friendship experiences of adolescent boys and girls with autism relative to those without autism, all educated within special education settings. Autistic girls showed similar social motivation and friendship quality to non-autistic girls, while autistic boys reported having both qualitatively different friendships and less motivation for social contact relative to boys without autism and to girls with and without autism. Semi-structured interviews with the adolescents corroborated these findings, with one exception: autistic girls reported high levels of relational aggression within their friendships, suggesting that girls on the autism spectrum in particular may struggle with identifying and dealing with conflict in their social lives.
This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the friendships and conflict experiences of autistic girls and boys relative to their neurotypical peers. One hundred and two adolescents (27 autistic girls, 26 autistic boys, 26 neurotypical girls, 23 neurotypical boys), aged between 11 and 18 years completed the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS), the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire (RPEQ) and were interviewed about their friendships. Results demonstrated that in many ways, the friendships and social experiences of autistic girls are similar to those of neurotypical girls. Autistic girls, however, have significantly more social challenges than their neurotypical peers, experiencing more conflict, and finding that conflict harder to manage successfully. Autistic boys showed quantitatively different friendship patterns to all other groups. There were consistent gender differences in the type of conflict which boys and girls experienced, regardless of diagnostic status. These finding suggest that gender, rather than diagnosis per se, plays a critical role in the way that autistic adolescents perceive and experience their social relationships.