Table 3.
Mean scores (standard deviations) on loneliness and other social variables split by diagnostic and age groups, and results of the follow-up ANCOVAs
| Variable | Age group | ASD group | Clinical control | Non-clinical control | Diagnostic group | Age group | Interaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-report | F(2,253) | F(1,253) | F(2,253) | ||||
| LACA loneliness | Child | 21.77 (7.98)a | 19.54 (7.98)a | 20.32 (6.14)a | 12.84*** | 3.98* | 3.77* |
| Adolescent | 23.50 (7.04)a | 15.48 (3.35)b | 18.12 (4.58)c | ||||
| WSIS desire for interaction | Child | 14.15 (10.89)a | 18.57 (11.49)a | 27.76 (11.65)b | 16.82*** | 51.52*** | 2.43 |
| Adolescent | 26.04 (12.31)c | 32.00 (11.87)d | 34.71 (9.51)d | ||||
| Parent-report | F(2,229) | F(1,229) | F(2,229) | ||||
| SSO social skills | Child | 19.01 (9.46)a | 26.50 (8.76)b | 32.14 (8.12)c | 24.71*** | 0.35 | 1.74 |
| Adolescent | 19.41 (10.31)a | 27.76 (9.90)b | 28.46 (8.66)b | ||||
| CBCL social problems | Child | 7.94 (4.28)a | 4.42 (3.55)b | 4.10 (3.92)b | 29.25*** | 2.89 | 1.31 |
| Adolescent | 7.55 (3.41)a | 4.24 (3.63)b | 2.28 (2.05)c | ||||
| CBCL social competence | Child | 6.28 (2.04)a | 7.71 (1.74)b | 8.03 (1.90)b | 17.33*** | 0.74 | 0.65 |
| Adolescent | 5.77 (2.10)a | 7.40 (2.22)b | 8.29 (2.17)b | ||||
| SCARED social anxiety | Child | 8.50 (5.20)a | 4.17 (3.65)b | 4.06 (3.61)b | 23.26*** | 0.73 | 0.10 |
| Adolescent | 7.77 (5.00)a | 3.95 (4.16)b | 3.85 (2.79)b | ||||
| Teacher-report | F(2,185) | F(1,185) | F(2,185) | ||||
| SSO social skills | Child | 18.51 (7.75)a | 26.34 (9.23)b | 28.76 (9.35)b | 15.27*** | 0.07 | 0.56 |
| Adolescent | 19.61 (8.85)a | 23.87 (10.54)ab | 29.59 (8.86)b | ||||
| TRF social problems | Child | 4.83 (3.28)a | 3.83 (2.78)ab | 2.92 (3.03)b | 13.60*** | 4.95* | 1.65 |
| Adolescent | 4.83 (3.11)a | 2.74 (2.07)b | 1.00 (1.91)c |
LACA loneliness and aloneness in children and adolescents, WSIS wish for social interaction scale, SSO social skills observation, CBCL child behavior checklist, SCARED screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders, TRF teacher report form. For each variable, within-row and within-column means not sharing similar subscript letters are significantly different at p < .05
*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001