Foster Sarah J, Ackerman Robert A, Wilks Charlotte Eh, Dodd Michelle, Calderon Rachel, Ropar Danielle, Fletcher-Watson Sue, Crompton Catherine J, Sasson Noah J
The University of Texas at Dallas, USA.
University of Nottingham, UK.
Autism. 2025 Jul;29(7):1700-1710. doi: 10.1177/13623613251320444. Epub 2025 Feb 24.
Although autistic adults may establish better dyadic rapport with autistic relative to non-autistic partners, it is unclear whether this extends to group settings. The current study examined whether rapport differs between autistic groups, non-autistic groups, and mixed groups of autistic and non-autistic adults, and whether differing diagnostically from the rest of the group results in lower rapport. One hundred and forty-three adults were assigned to one of four group types of four participants each: all-autistic, all-non-autistic, non-autistic majority (three non-autistic, one autistic), and autistic majority (three autistic, one non-autistic). Groups participated in a 5-minute building activity and afterwards completed a 5-item rapport measure assessing their experience. The all-autistic groups did not differ on overall rapport from the all-non-autistic groups and had significantly higher rapport on two items (enjoying the interaction and friendliness of the group) than both types of mixed groups. At the individual level, autistic participants expressed more ease and enjoyment when interacting with other autistic adults relative to non-autistic adults, and their rapport declined as more non-autistic participants were included in the group. In contrast, rapport for non-autistic participants remained relatively consistent regardless of group composition. We discuss potential reasons why autistic participants were more affected by group composition than non-autistic participants.Lay abstractAutistic adults sometimes get along better with other autistic people compared to non-autistic people, but so far this has only been studied in two-person interactions. This study examined how well autistic and non-autistic people develop rapport in a group setting and whether rapport differs when group members share or do not share a diagnosis. We assigned 143 adults to 36 groups of four adults each. Some groups only had autistic members, some only had non-autistic members, and some were "mixed" groups of autistic and non-autistic members. Groups participated in a tower-building task for 5 minutes and afterwards completed a survey about rapport with the group. The groups of all-autistic participants expressed that their interactions were more enjoyable and friendly than the mixed groups. Autistic participants reported lower rapport when interacting with non-autistic adults, while non-autistic participants reported similar rapport whether interacting with autistic or non-autistic group members. Overall, findings are not consistent with a social deficit model of autism, as autistic adults often established rapport with partners in a group setting. Their level of rapport, however, depended strongly on the social context, particularly whether other autistic people were also in the group.
虽然成年自闭症患者与自闭症伙伴建立的二元关系可能比与非自闭症伙伴更好，但尚不清楚这种情况是否适用于群体环境。当前研究考察了自闭症群体、非自闭症群体以及成年自闭症和非自闭症混合群体之间的融洽关系是否存在差异，以及与群体其他成员在诊断上的不同是否会导致融洽关系降低。143名成年人被分配到四种小组类型中的一种，每种类型有四名参与者：全是自闭症患者的小组、全是非自闭症患者的小组、非自闭症患者占多数的小组（三名非自闭症患者、一名自闭症患者）以及自闭症患者占多数的小组（三名自闭症患者、一名非自闭症患者）。各小组参与了一项为期5分钟的搭建活动，之后完成一项包含5个项目的融洽关系测量，以评估他们在此过程中的体验。全是自闭症患者的小组在总体融洽关系上与全是非自闭症患者的小组没有差异，并且在两个项目（享受互动和群体的友好氛围）上的融洽关系显著高于两种混合小组。在个体层面，相对于非自闭症成年人，自闭症参与者在与其他自闭症成年人互动时表现得更加轻松和愉快，并且随着小组中纳入的非自闭症参与者增多，他们的融洽关系会下降。相比之下，非自闭症参与者的融洽关系无论小组构成如何都保持相对稳定。我们讨论了自闭症参与者比非自闭症参与者更容易受到小组构成影响的潜在原因。
成年自闭症患者有时与其他自闭症患者相处得比与非自闭症患者更好，但迄今为止这仅在两人互动中得到研究。本研究考察了自闭症患者和非自闭症患者在群体环境中建立融洽关系的情况，以及当群体成员是否有相同诊断时融洽关系是否存在差异。我们将143名成年人分配到36个每组有四名成年人的小组中。一些小组只有自闭症成员，一些小组只有非自闭症成员，还有一些是自闭症和非自闭症成员的“混合”小组。各小组参与了一项为期5分钟的搭塔任务，之后完成一项关于与小组融洽关系的调查。全是自闭症参与者的小组表示他们的互动比混合小组更愉快且友好。自闭症参与者报告称与非自闭症成年人互动时融洽关系较低，而非自闭症参与者报告称无论与自闭症还是非自闭症小组成员互动，融洽关系都相似。总体而言，研究结果与自闭症的社会缺陷模型不一致，因为成年自闭症患者在群体环境中通常能与伙伴建立融洽关系。然而，他们的融洽关系水平很大程度上取决于社会环境，特别是小组中是否也有其他自闭症患者。
