TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘It’s different for girls’
T2 - gender differences in the friendships and conflict of autistic and neurotypical adolescents
AU - Sedgewick, Felicity
AU - Hill, Vivian
AU - Pellicano, Elizabeth
PY - 2019/7/1
Y1 - 2019/7/1
N2 - This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the friendships and conflict experiences of autistic girls and boys relative to their neurotypical peers. In total, 102 adolescents (27 autistic girls, 26 autistic boys, 26 neurotypical girls, and 23 neurotypical boys), aged between 11 and 18 years completed the Friendship Qualities Scale, the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire 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 findings suggest that gender, rather than diagnosis per se, plays a critical role in the way that autistic adolescents perceive and experience their social relationships.
AB - This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the friendships and conflict experiences of autistic girls and boys relative to their neurotypical peers. In total, 102 adolescents (27 autistic girls, 26 autistic boys, 26 neurotypical girls, and 23 neurotypical boys), aged between 11 and 18 years completed the Friendship Qualities Scale, the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire 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 findings suggest that gender, rather than diagnosis per se, plays a critical role in the way that autistic adolescents perceive and experience their social relationships.
KW - autism
KW - conflict
KW - friends
KW - gender
KW - girls
KW - peers
KW - relationships
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059529506&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1362361318794930
DO - 10.1177/1362361318794930
M3 - Article
C2 - 30280923
AN - SCOPUS:85059529506
SN - 1362-3613
VL - 23
SP - 1119
EP - 1132
JO - Autism
JF - Autism
IS - 5
ER -