A meta-ethnography of autistic people’s experiences of social camouflaging and its relationship with mental health

Field, Sarah L., Williams, Marc O., Jones, Catherine R.G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0541-0431 and Fox, John R.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3039-8024 2024. A meta-ethnography of autistic people’s experiences of social camouflaging and its relationship with mental health. Autism 28 (6) , pp. 1328-1343. 10.1177/13623613231223036

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Abstract

Some autistic people use strategies to hide autistic behaviour and appear more neurotypical. Previous research has linked this ‘social camouflaging’ with mental health difficulties. This review synthesised qualitative research to explore the relationship between camouflaging and mental health. Thirteen studies were systematically identified, appraised and synthesised using meta-ethnography. Four third-order concepts were developed, describing camouflaging as an attempt to cope with stressful social contexts which impact mental health. Many autistic people experienced unintended negative consequences of their camouflaging that increased stress. Potential mechanisms for the relationship between camouflaging and mental health related to the qualities of the strategies that were used. Camouflaging strategies that were superficially ‘successful’ involved high levels of self-monitoring, were highly cognitively demanding or highly habitual and appeared more linked to poor mental health. This should be investigated in future research and has potential implications for how clinicians support autistic people with mental health difficulties.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1461-7005
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 December 2023
Date of Acceptance:	11 December 2023
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2024 11:19
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/165025

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