Emerging adulthood is a period of growing up that starts after the age of 18 and lasts until the age of 25, and up to 35. During this period, young people go through a formative stage during which they enter into various types of social relationships, and test their personal, and social boundaries. According to Erikson’s developmental theory, the period is characterized by the search for identity and intimate relationships (Hochberg & Konner, 2020). The behaviors and trends of relationship formation by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a topic of scientific discourse that deserves particular attention. This paper aims to explore the formation of relationships among emerging adults with ASD.
Recent Trends
Autism spectrum disorders include high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) which describes people of average intelligence and above, with normal language and speech development. A hallmark of people with HFASD is an atypical understanding of social situations, social intuition, and interpretation of other people’s behavior in interpersonal situations. Scientists analyze various aspects of the behavior of people with HFASD, often referred to as ASD, including the tendency to develop anxiety or depression, the biochemical aspects of the disorder, and the potential for relationship formation.
Interestingly, in a supportive relationship, trust and unity are key factors in reducing negative emotions. Scientists also pay attention to the behavior of people with ASD in society, like forming romantic bonds, and the relationships between the ASD and non-ASD siblings. In general, studying how people with ASD form attitudes is important, as they make up a significant percentage of people with psychiatric disorders and have a high potential for integration.
Developmental Perspective
Thanks to the new opportunities of society, the increase in life expectancy, and the improvement of its conditions, modern young people have 10-15 years more time for forming their identities, and this new developmental stage is called emerging adulthood. Most young people postpone starting a family and active career efforts until the age of 35, plunging into adulthood gradually. The period of emerging adulthood is particularly important for people with ASD, who may lack the opportunity, motivation, or psychological tools for age-appropriate encounters and experiences. Remarkably, according to Erickson’s theory, such meetings are necessary for the harmonious development of the personality (Vortman-Shoham & Kenny, 2019). As a rule, psychologists develop specific approaches to help people with ASD integrate into an independent life in society.
During the period of emerging adulthood, individuals’ brains focus on learning about intimacy and mutual support, forming friendships, being family-oriented, and acquiring related social skills. Interestingly, this period is considered vulnerable, and the UN identifies young people aged 18-24 around the world in need of protection and as a target group for intervention programs (Hochberg & Konner, 2020). The paradigm shift was driven by medical studies that provided data on the continued development of brain function during the mentioned period.
Notably, Erickson’s theory distinguishes 8 psychosocial stages, including trust versus distrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, perseverance versus inferiority, identity versus confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generation versus stagnation, and wholeness versus despair. Emerging adulthood in this context is focused on the fifth and sixth stages. Identity versus confusion characterizes emerging adulthood, and if successful, the individual leaves this phase with a sense of control, independence, and selfhood. Further, intimacy versus isolation requires the formation of strong bonds, and the transition to the next stage is possible when a person learned to maintain a committed relationship.
What Scholars Say
The scholars present interesting perspectives on how people with ASD progress through the emerging adulthood stage. Yu (2021) studies how sibling support is important at this stage. According to the scholar, the difference in styles of emotional coping between neurotypical people and people with ASD caused the main problems in the relationship. Specifically, “people who had autistic siblings reported less sibling warmth, a grateful attitude, and more suppression of emotions,” while sibling warmth was also affecting “distress, affecting optimism, gratitude, and suppression of emotions” (Yu, 2021, p. 3). At the same time, people with ASD were more in need of relationships to match their communication style. this means that warmth and support, when not properly accepted, did not lead to greater resilience in people with ASD.
Romantic relationships are an important theme in the developmental stage of emerging adulthood. McNaughtan (2019) examined how individuals with ASD form and develop romantic relationships, focusing on the issue of consent. Interestingly, study participants in the ASD group were “more likely to refer to social rules and norms, less likely to disregard characters’ emotions, and less likely to articulate their reasoning” (McNaughtan, 2019, p. 4). At the same time, women from both groups more often apologized for the decisions they made and were more careful.
Social connections of emerging adults with ASD was another topic that attracted the scholars’ attention. Stice & Lavner (2019) reported that “adults with autism and subclinical autistic features report more severe internalization problems than their peers” (p. 1096). Scientists currently do not have the list of psychological processes that underlie these differences, so the topic requires further study. Notably, lower levels of social connections were associated with feelings of loneliness, and anxiety and depressive syndromes were more pronounced for all emerging adults.
Sexual and intimate relationships of emerging adults with ASD are also the subject of scientific debate. According to Cheak-Zamora et al. (2019), sexuality and intimacy significantly influenced the development of young adults, including those with ASD. The results of the study showed that many young people expressed a desire for partnership, but few reported that they had partners, and an even smaller percentage confirmed that these partners matched their ideal. All participants reported the need for sexuality education about safety, sexual health, development of communication skills, and courtship models, which may apply to the development of educational programs in the future.
Implications for Social Work Practice
The mental health of emerging adults is a priority both for scholars who study this issue and for medical practitioners. Many emerging adults show symptoms of psychological or mental problems and need help. Traditionally, young adults suffer from depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders, drug abuse, eating disorders, and abuse. Notably, emerging adults with ASD will probably have some unique needs to cope with problems associated with the disorder, while simultaneously navigating new situations. Therefore, practical programs for working with this category should be at the intersection of the traditional problems of young adults and the unique requirements of emerging adults with ASD.
Thus, the formation of relationships among emerging adults with ASD was discussed. People with ASD in most cases have the same problems as other young adults, although their ways of coping with emotions and dealing with social problems may differ. Successful self-realization at the stages of identity and creation of intimate relationships is an indispensable stage for moving to other stages of maturation, such as generalization and integration. Therefore, today there is a need to create working practices for psychological counseling of emerging adults with ASD.
References
Cheak-Zamora, N. C., Teti, M., Maurer-Batjer, A., O’Connor, K. V., & Randolph, J. K. (2019). Sexual and relationship interest, knowledge, and experiences among adolescents and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(8), 2605-2615.
Hochberg, Z. E., & Konner, M. (2020). Emerging adulthood, a pre-adult life-history stage. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10, 918.
McNaughtan, H. T. (2019). Romantic Consent in Emerging Adults with Autism (ASD) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto (Canada)).
Stice, L. V., & Lavner, J. A. (2019). Social connectedness and loneliness mediate the association between autistic traits and internalizing symptoms among young adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(3), 1096-1110.
Vortman-Shoham, I., & Kenny, S. (2019). Emerging adulthood and ASD. In Autism in Adulthood (pp. 1-19). Springer, Cham.
Yu, S. S. (2021). Sibling Warmth, Coping, and Distress among Emerging-Adult Siblings of Individuals with and without Autism (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Tech).