An Examination and Scale Development of Neurotypical College Students' Perceived Barriers to Interacting with Peers on the Autism Spectrum

Difficulties in social interaction faced by autistic college students can lead to challenges in their college experience that go beyond those of their neurotypical peers. Previous research has examined individual issues such as a lack of knowledge about autism and how that relates to stigma. Prior research has also looked at what autistic students believe to be barriers to their success. There remains a gap in understanding, however, regarding barriers to interaction with autistic peers from the neurotypical college students' perspective. The present study sought to address the gap by examining the barriers to interaction with autistic peers through the creation of two new scales: Barriers to Interaction with Peers on the Autism Spectrum-Perceived (BIPAS-P) and Self Report (BIPAS-SR). The psychometric properties of the two BIPAS scales were examined along with associations with perceived attitudes and unwillingness to interact. The possible moderating effect of quality of prior contact between perceived barriers and unwillingness to interact was also examined, as well as the potential mediating effect of perceived attitudes between self-reported barriers and unwillingness to interact. Results revealed some factors that can be considered barriers (BIPAS-P had four, BIPAS-SR had five). Perceived barriers were associated with negative affective attitudes, and barriers attributed to autistic peers were associated with negative behavioral attitudes. Self-reported barriers were positively associated with unwillingness to interact, and negatively associated with quality of prior contact. Quality of prior contact did not moderate the association between barriers and unwillingness to interact. Perceived attitudes partially mediate the relationship between self-reported barriers and unwillingness to interact.