Social Cognition in Relation to Social Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms in Adults with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background/Objectives: This following study explores the intricate relationship between autism, social anxiety, social cognition skills, and somatic symptoms. A review of the literature reveals that individuals with autism often face challenges in social interactions and often have heightened levels of social anxiety. Aspects of social cognition skills such as theory of mind and empathy may play a crucial role in understanding the dynamics of social anxiety in individuals with autism which may contribute to heightened levels of somatic symptoms. Methods: This study involves recruiting participants with and without a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for a total of 61 participants (27 with ASD, 34 without ASD) and examining the correlations between their social cognition skills, social anxiety, and somatic symptoms with a particular focus on the mediating roles of social cognition skills and social anxiety. Results: The findings suggest that individuals with self-identified ASD exhibit elevated levels of social anxiety. The study also revealed a positive correlation between higher social anxiety levels and increased somatic symptoms, with a stronger correlation between the two variables in non-ASD partici-pants. No significant correlations between social cognition skills and ASD, social anxiety, nor somatic symptoms were found. Conclusions: Findings from this study and future related studies may hopefully assist in developing more effective treatments for the treatment of somatic symptoms and social anxiety in individuals both with and without ASD. The results suggest that social anxiety levels may be a promising factor to focus on treating individuals.