View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

"I Always Ended Up Getting Close to Other People Who are Autistic": Autistic College Students' Friendship Development.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: "I Always Ended Up Getting Close to Other People Who are Autistic": Autistic College Students' Friendship Development.
Authors: Nachman, Brett Ranon (AUTHOR), Isaacson, Karly B. (AUTHOR), Cox, Bradley E. (AUTHOR), McDermott, Catherine Tobin (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Higher Education. 2026, Vol. 97 Issue 4, p734-759. 26p.
Subjects: Social belonging, Higher education, Interpersonal relations, College students, Hobbies
Abstract: Finding community is often a pivotal component of the college experience. With autistic students on the rise across higher education, an opportunity exists to discover how this marginalized community uniquely builds relationships, especially given the nuances associated with their communication and ways of finding like-minded individuals. This phenomenological study explores how autistic college students foster social connectedness with the goal of understanding how higher education may better support this unique student population. We conducted interviews with 43 autistic undergraduate college students, as part of a larger nationwide study on autistic college student success. Our findings illuminate three ways autistic college students foster social connectedness: engaging in autistic spaces, practicing autistic authenticity, and bonding over shared interests. We build on the theoretical model of belonging for college students with disabilities by showing the importance of modality, vulnerability, and niche outlets as helping foster connection among autistic college students. We encourage practitioners to build more clubs and affinity spaces for autistic students to connect, which may prompt researchers to explore how particular settings help autistic students in building bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 194058832
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: "I Always Ended Up Getting Close to Other People Who are Autistic": Autistic College Students' Friendship Development.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nachman%2C+Brett+Ranon%22">Nachman, Brett Ranon</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Isaacson%2C+Karly+B%2E%22">Isaacson, Karly B.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cox%2C+Bradley+E%2E%22">Cox, Bradley E.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McDermott%2C+Catherine+Tobin%22">McDermott, Catherine Tobin</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Higher+Education%22">Journal of Higher Education</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 97 Issue 4, p734-759. 26p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+belonging%22">Social belonging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+relations%22">Interpersonal relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+students%22">College students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hobbies%22">Hobbies</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Finding community is often a pivotal component of the college experience. With autistic students on the rise across higher education, an opportunity exists to discover how this marginalized community uniquely builds relationships, especially given the nuances associated with their communication and ways of finding like-minded individuals. This phenomenological study explores how autistic college students foster social connectedness with the goal of understanding how higher education may better support this unique student population. We conducted interviews with 43 autistic undergraduate college students, as part of a larger nationwide study on autistic college student success. Our findings illuminate three ways autistic college students foster social connectedness: engaging in autistic spaces, practicing autistic authenticity, and bonding over shared interests. We build on the theoretical model of belonging for college students with disabilities by showing the importance of modality, vulnerability, and niche outlets as helping foster connection among autistic college students. We encourage practitioners to build more clubs and affinity spaces for autistic students to connect, which may prompt researchers to explore how particular settings help autistic students in building bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=194058832
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/00221546.2025.2497184
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
        StartPage: 734
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Social belonging
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hobbies
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: "I Always Ended Up Getting Close to Other People Who are Autistic": Autistic College Students' Friendship Development.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Nachman, Brett Ranon
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Isaacson, Karly B.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Cox, Bradley E.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: McDermott, Catherine Tobin
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00221546
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 97
            – Type: issue
              Value: 4
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Higher Education
              Type: main
ResultId 1