Merry Kalingel Levi, MScOT, is PhD Candidate and Occupational Therapist, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel;
Naomi Schreuer, PhD, OT, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
Am J Occup Ther. 2023 Mar 1;77(2). doi: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050061.
A paucity of studies have focused on pain experiences among people with autism spectrum disorder, particularly those addressing social pain in daily life contexts or learning from the perspective of autistic people.
To explore the social pain experience of autistic people.
A descriptive qualitative design followed by deductive thematic analysis. Interviews were semistructured to capture the social pain experience, coping strategies, and implications for the participation of autistic people.
Online interviews using Zoom videoconferencing software.
Fifteen autistic people were recruited for the study using purposeful and criterion sampling.
Four primary themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) a definition of social pain and the distinction between social pain and other types of pain; (2) the sources-internal, external, and combined-of social pain; (3) the loneliness outcome, which echoes the gap between the desire for and lack of social contacts; and (4) coping strategies pertaining to the continuum between inward and outward coping strategies to deal with social pain.
The study indicates the existence of a discrepancy between autistic people's need for social interactions and the social pain they experience. It calls for intervention programs for autistic people to improve their coping strategies and promote their self-acceptance and better inclusion in the community. What This Article Adds: Promoting social functioning is a prime role of occupational therapists, and this article adds a novel theoretical model that contributes to that role. The model represents the social pain experiences of autistic people and their strategies to overcome this phenomenon. Firsthand accounts of autistic people regarding social pain enable a better understanding of their desire to be involved in the social context. This study suggests directions for further intervention programs to assist autistic people in fulfilling their wish for social relationships and enabling their enhanced integration into society. Positionality Statement: We recognize that use of person-first versus identity-first language is a source of debate and controversy. We have chosen to use identity-first language for two reasons. First, studies indicate person with autism is the term least preferred by autistic people (Botha et al., 2021). Second, autistic is the term used by the majority of our participants during interviews.
很少有研究关注自闭症谱系障碍患者的疼痛体验，特别是那些在日常生活背景下解决社交疼痛或从自闭症患者的角度学习的研究。
探索自闭症患者的社交疼痛体验。
描述性定性设计，随后进行演绎主题分析。访谈采用半结构化方式，以捕捉社交疼痛体验、应对策略以及对自闭症患者参与的影响。
使用 Zoom 视频会议软件进行在线访谈。
通过目的性和标准性抽样，研究招募了 15 名自闭症患者。
数据分析中出现了四个主要主题：（1）社交疼痛的定义以及社交疼痛与其他类型疼痛的区别；（2）社交疼痛的来源——内部、外部和混合；（3）孤独的结果，这反映了对社交联系的渴望与缺乏之间的差距；（4）应对策略，涉及内在和外在应对策略的连续体，以应对社交疼痛。
该研究表明，自闭症患者对社交互动的需求与他们所经历的社交疼痛之间存在差距。它呼吁为自闭症患者制定干预计划，以改善他们的应对策略，并促进他们的自我接纳和更好地融入社区。本文增加了什么：促进社交功能是职业治疗师的主要角色之一，本文增加了一个新的理论模型，为该角色做出了贡献。该模型代表了自闭症患者的社交疼痛体验及其克服这种现象的策略。自闭症患者对社交疼痛的第一手描述使我们更好地理解他们参与社交环境的愿望。这项研究为进一步的干预计划提供了方向，以帮助自闭症患者实现他们对社交关系的愿望，并使他们能够更好地融入社会。立场声明：我们认识到使用第一人称还是身份第一语言是一个有争议的话题。我们选择使用身份第一语言有两个原因。首先，研究表明，自闭症患者是自闭症患者最不喜欢的术语（Botha 等人，2021 年）。其次，在访谈中，大多数参与者都使用了自闭症这个术语。
