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Mental health of israeli employees with autism spectrum disorders following COVID-19-related changes in employment status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Y. Goldfarb ,
E. Gal  and
O. Golan
Y. Goldfarb*
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
E. Gal
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
O. Golan
Affiliation:
Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic caused employment related challenges worldwide. Adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are especially vulnerable, due to pre-existing employment challenges, intolerance to changes and uncertainty and high levels of related anxiety.

Objectives

To examine COVID-19 related changes in work experiences and mental health of employees with ASD who held a steady job before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

Data were collected from 23 participants diagnosed with ASD (4 females), aged 20–49, who answered an online administered survey at two timepoints: prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, and during the outbreak. Self-reports included measures of background and employment status; mental health (General Health Questionnaire-12); job satisfaction (Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire); and satisfaction of psychological needs at work (Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration – Work domain).

Results

Participants who continued to physically attend work maintained pre-COVID-19 levels on all assessed variables. Participants who transitioned to remote work from home preserved their salary levels and job satisfaction, but showed a marginally significant deterioration in mental health and a significant decrease in the satisfaction of their needs for competence and autonomy at work. Unemployed participants showed a significant decrease in mental health.

Conclusions

Results highlight employment as a protective factor from the potential negative implications of COVID-19 on mental-health of employees with ASD. Employees who transition to working from home require personalized work-support plans due to the possible negative effects of this transition on mental health. Maintaining the routine of physically reporting to work should be preferred, when possible.

Keywords

Adults with ASDEmploymentCOVID-19Mental health
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S268
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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