Sorry, this project has finished.

Please contact 2308496m@student.gla.ac.uk with any questions about this study.

This study investigated autistic traits, group identification and subjective wellbeing. The data collected will be used to investigate and examine any relationships between number of groups participants identified with, level of autistic traits and wellbeing. We anticipate that greater levels of belonging will be associated with greater wellbeing and lower levels of depression. Based on previous evidence, we predict that higher levels of autistic traits will be associated with higher levels of depression and lower levels of wellbeing.

This quantitative study has a correlational design, investigating the research question ‘What is the relationship between autistic traits, group identification and wellbeing?’.

The first part of the study involved measuring levels of autistic traits. This was measured using the first questionnaire, the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-10; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), and is not a diagnostic measure.

The second part of the study involved measuring group identification. The second questionnaire, the Group Identification Scale (GIS; Sani et al., 2014), measured the extent to which one feels a sense of belonging to a group, coupled with a sense of commonality with the group members (Sani, Madhok, Norbury, Dugard & Wakefield, 2015).

The third part of the study involved measuring your wellbeing. The third questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (Kroenke & Williams, 2002) measured your degree of depression severity and the final questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985) measured your life satisfaction. These were measured to allow for an overall assessment of your subjective wellbeing.

Data from the study will be examined in attempt to answer the three research hypotheses:

Hyp 1: It will be hypothesised that both number of groups identified with and autistic traits will predict subjective wellbeing (measured by the satisfaction with life scale)

Hyp 2: It will be hypothesised that both number of groups identified with and autistic traits will predict subjective wellbeing (measured by the PHQ-9)

Hyp 3: It will be hypothesised that there will be a relationship between level of autistic traits (high vs low) and number of groups identified with.

In order to investigate whether the number of groups identified with and autistic traits are predictive of both the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the PHQ-9, two multiple regressions will be conducted.

To investigate the hypothesis 3, a cross tabulation will be conducted to investigate the relationship between autistic traits and number of groups identified with.

If you would like to access support resources after participation, the following helplines provide free and confidential mental health support:

Samaritans: 116 123

Breathing Space: 0800 83 85 87

If you have any further questions about the study or would like to be notified about the results of the study after completion, then please feel free to email the researcher, Alice Murray, at 2308496m@student.gla.ac.uk.

Thank you for your participation.

Related Papers: The Relationship Between Group Identification and Satisfaction with Life in a Cross-Cultural Community Sample. Wakefield et al. (2017). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-016-9735-z#ref-CR12

Higher identification with social groups is associated with healthier behaviour: evidence from a Scottish community sample. Sani et al. (2015). https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjhp.12119

References

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 31(1), 5-17.

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.

Jetten, J., Haslam, C., & Haslam, S. A. (2012). The social cure: Identity, health and well-being. New York: Psychology Press.

Kroenke, K., & Spitzer, R.L. (2002). The PHQ-9: A new depression and diagnostic severity measure. Psychiatric Annals, 32, 509-521.

Sani, F., Madhok, V., Norbury, M., Dugard, P., & Wakefield, J. R. H. (2014). Greater number of group identifications is associated with healthier behaviour: Evidence from a Scottish community sample. British Journal of Health Psychology, DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12119.

Sani, F., Madhok, V., Norbury, M., Dugard, P., Wakefield, J. R. H. (2015). Higher identification with social groups is associated with healthier behavior: Evidence from a Scottish community sample. British Journal of Health Psychology. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12119.

Tomasello, M. (2009). The ultra-social animal. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 187-194. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2015.