title: Violations of Personal Space in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Williams Syndrome: Insights from the Social Responsiveness Scale.
abstract: Interpersonal distance regulation is crucial for successful social interactions. We investigated personal space awareness in Williams syndrome (WS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typical development. Parents reported that individuals with WS and ASD were significantly more likely than those developing typically to invade the personal space of others. WS individuals were reported to have the least awareness of the personal space boundaries of others. Despite the suggested opposing social profiles of WS and ASD, some similarities are present in the ability, or indeed inability, to regulate interpersonal distance during social interactions. Findings are discussed in relation to implications of atypical amygdala function, inhibitory control and anxiety on real-world behaviour for such socially vulnerable groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lough
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
authors.forename: Jacqui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Centre, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Mikle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: South
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kirk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Durham University, Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. deborah.riby@durham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Deborah M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Riby
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010550:Personal Space; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018980:Williams Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism; Personal space; Social behaviour; Social distance; Williams syndrome