Demographic and psychological predictors of alcohol use and misuse in autistic adults
| Autor: | Meng-Chuan Lai, Paula L. Smith, Laura Hull, William Mandy, Carrie Allison, Maya Bowri, Simon Baron-Cohen |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Bowri, Maya [0000-0002-0494-1647], Hull, Laura [0000-0002-8289-2158], Allison, Carrie [0000-0003-2272-2090], Mandy, William [0000-0002-3564-5808], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Autism Spectrum Disorder autism spectrum disorders education Alcohol Sample (statistics) Standard deviation adult outcomes 03 medical and health sciences chemistry.chemical_compound 0302 clinical medicine mental disorders Developmental and Educational Psychology Substance misuse medicine adults Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 030212 general & internal medicine Autistic Disorder Demography 05 social sciences substance misuse Original Articles alcohol use medicine.disease Anxiety Disorders FOS: Sociology Mental Health chemistry Autism Psychology 050104 developmental & child psychology Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | Bowri, M, Hull, L, Allison, C, Smith, P, Baron-Cohen, S, Lai, M C & Mandy, W 2021, ' Demographic and psychological predictors of alcohol use and misuse in autistic adults ', Autism, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 1469-1480 . https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361321992668 Autism |
| DOI: | 10.17863/cam.72923 |
| Popis: | This study explored demographic and psychological predictors of alcohol use and misuse in a high-functioning, community sample of 237 autistic adults aged 18–75 (mean = 41.92 and standard deviation = 13.3) recruited in the United Kingdom. An online survey measured demographic information, autistic traits, depression, generalised anxiety, social anxiety, mental well-being, social camouflaging and alcohol use with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. The sample was divided into three groups (non-drinkers, non-hazardous drinkers and hazardous drinkers) and multinomial logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between alcohol use and demographic factors, autistic traits, mental health variables and social camouflaging. Our results demonstrated a U-shaped pattern among autistic adults, with non-drinkers and hazardous drinkers scoring significantly higher than non-hazardous drinkers on levels of autistic traits, depression, generalised anxiety and social anxiety. In multivariate analysis, autistic non-drinkers were less likely to be male (odds ratio = 0.44; 95% confidence interval = 0.22–0.87) and had more autistic traits (odds ratio = 2.50; 95% confidence interval = 1.19–5.28). Gender and level of autistic traits may be the most significant factors in predicting alcohol use in the autistic community. Lay abstract Alcohol use and misuse are associated with a variety of negative physical, psychological and social consequences. The limited existing research on substance use including alcohol use in autistic adults has yielded mixed findings, with some studies concluding that autism reduces the likelihood of substance use and others suggesting that autism may increase an individual’s risk for substance misuse. This study investigated demographic and psychological predictors of alcohol use and misuse in a sample of 237 autistic adults. An online survey was used to obtain data on demographic information, autistic traits, depression, generalised anxiety, social anxiety, mental well-being, social camouflaging and alcohol use. The sample was divided into three groups (non-drinkers, non-hazardous drinkers and hazardous drinkers) in order to investigate associations between alcohol use and demographic factors, autistic traits, mental health variables and social camouflaging. Our results demonstrated a U-shaped pattern among autistic adults, with non-drinkers and hazardous drinkers scoring higher than non-hazardous drinkers on levels of autistic traits, depression, generalised anxiety and social anxiety. Autistic non-drinkers were less likely to be male and had more autistic traits. Gender and level of autistic traits may be the most significant factors in predicting alcohol use in the autistic community. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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