“You Must Become a Chameleon to Survive”: Adolescent Experiences of Camouflaging

Bernardin, Courtney J.; Mason, Erica N.; Lewis, Timothy J.; Kanne, Stephen M.

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04912-1

Cited by 55 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Recent research has started to investigate masking in adolescents. 47,48 Bernardin et al 48 found that both autistic and nonautistic young people mask for similar reasons to adults (i.e., to fit in, to avoid negative social judgments) and that masking leads to exhaustion in autistic young people in particular. Hull et al 49 found a relationship between executive functioning and self-reported masking in adolescents, in that those with higher scores on a self-reported masking questionnaire also had higher scores on an executive functioning task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Masking Is Life”: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults

Miller

Rees

Pearson

2021

Autism in Adulthood

129

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Background: Autistic masking is an emerging research area, and so far, research has suggested that masking has a negative effect on autistic people. Masking relates to general social practices (such as identity management) and is often driven by stigma avoidance. Many nonautistic people also experience stigma that might drive them to suppress aspects of their identity. In this study, we investigate similarities and differences in experiences of masking in autistic and nonautistic people. Methods: We conducted an online survey about experiences and views of masking in autistic people (n = 144), neurodivergent people without an autism diagnosis (n = 49), and neurotypical people (n = 45) recruited via social media. We used thematic analysis to analyze responses to open-ended items about masking, using an inductive approach, at a semantic level, with a critical realist paradigm. Results: Thematic analysis revealed that some aspects of masking are shared across autistic and nonautistic people, such as utilizing mimicry of others as a social strategy or feeling exhausted from masking. All groups reported that masking made them feel disconnected from their true sense of identity and had a negative effect on them. Other aspects of masking seemed more specific to autistic people, such as sensory suppression, and masking leading to suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that many aspects of masking are experienced across different neurotypes and are likely related to outside perceptions of difference and stigma. It is likely that what we call ''autistic masking'' is similar to other forms of stigma management previously theorized. Some aspects of masking do seem more specific to the autistic neurotype (e.g., suppression of stimming) and should be explored further to provide support for autistic people recovering from the negative impact of masking.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Masking Is Life”: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults

Miller

Rees

Pearson

2021

Autism in Adulthood

129

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“…The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5;APA, 2013) describes autism as a lifelong condition present since the early developmental period and recognises that autistic presentations may be hidden by strategies acquired by the autistic individual over time to cope with the social, communication, and sensory challenges of nonautistic environments (APA, 2013). While most camouflaging research to date has been with autistic adults, there is increasing qualitative (Bernardin, Mason, et al, 2021;Halsall et al, 2021;Cook et al, 2018;Tierney et al, 2016) and quantitative Corbett et al, 2021; evidence that autistic children and adolescents, as young as seven years old (Dean et al, 2016), also engage in camouflaging.…”

Section: Continuity and Change In Camouflaging Across The Lifespanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Autistic Adults’ Psychosocial Experiences Affecting Beginnings, Continuity, and Change in Camouflaging Over Time- A Qualitative Study

Loo¹,

Teo²,

Liang³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Many autistic people develop camouflaging strategies to mask or compensate for their underlying autism-related differences in order to get by in predominantly non-autistic societies. Autistic adults have described camouflaging as a “lifetime of conditioning to act normal”, suggesting that camouflaging develops over the autistic person’s lifespan. Yet, very little is so far known about the course of camouflaging motivations and behaviours over time or the psychosocial factors that may influence autistic people’s camouflaging trajectories. In an exploratory qualitative study within an Asian sociocultural context, we interviewed 11 Singaporean autistic adults in depth about their camouflaging experiences throughout their lives. We aimed to better understand the beginnings, continuity and changes in their camouflaging motivations and strategies over time, and related psychosocial influences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty-six themes were identified, and were organised across four phases - pre-camouflaging, beginnings, continuity, and change over time. The earliest camouflaging motivations were predominantly relational, linked to a negative self-identity shaped by adverse social experiences. Strategies were increasingly complex and better integrated into one’s sense of self over time, or more selectively engaged in. Our findings highlight the role of psychosocial pressures precipitating camouflaging. They also emphasise the need for both individual psychological and societal-level changes to move from pathologizing autistic differences to acceptance, understanding, and inclusion, so as to reduce psychosocial pressures on autistic people of all ages to camouflage.

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“…Research that assessed social challenges using the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire [ 57 ] found that autistic girls report experiencing more relational conflict with peers (e.g., “I was left out of a group activity”) while boys report more overt difficulties (e.g., “Someone threatened to hurt me or beat me up”) [ 27 ]. Autistic girls generally view friendship as desired [ 27 ], important and rewarding [ 58 ], but difficult to maintain [ 27 , 50 ]. This suggests that culturally-gendered expectations about the importance of social relationships may play a critical role in autistic individuals’ social views and experiences (i.e., social acceptance may be judged as very important for girls in a society that rewards their relational competence and less important for boys in a society that values their independence) [ 59 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous work has identified a potential disconnect for autistic girls in social domains, including friendship, such that autistic girls and women may appear more socially competent than they actually are [ 21 , 60 ]. For example, teachers report substantially fewer concerns about social skills in school-aged autistic girls compared to boys, in part because girls “blend in” or “camouflage” with peers at the surface level of observed behavior [ 61 ] despite internal struggles that ultimately increase their risk of developing anxiety or depression [ 50 , 62 ]. Autistic girls are also more likely to be accepted by non-autistic girls as fringe members of female social groups until adolescence when female friendships evolve and begin to require considerably more nuanced social skills [ 63 , 64 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Autistic girls are also more likely to be accepted by non-autistic girls as fringe members of female social groups until adolescence when female friendships evolve and begin to require considerably more nuanced social skills [ 63 , 64 ]. Interestingly, mixed-methods research examining adolescents’ motivation for using camouflaging techniques to mask their autistic behaviors has revealed that “making or keeping friends” was the most common theme reported for both autistic girls and boys [ 50 ]. Notably, some researchers have criticized previous studies of camouflaging due to inconsistent operational definitions and imprecise measures [ 65 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Friend matters: sex differences in social language during autism diagnostic interviews

et al. 2022

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Background Autistic individuals frequently experience social communication challenges. Girls are diagnosed with autism less often than boys even when their symptoms are equally severe, which may be due to insufficient understanding of the way autism manifests in girls. Differences in the behavioral presentation of autism, including how people talk about social topics, could contribute to these persistent problems with identification. Despite a growing body of research suggesting that autistic girls and boys present distinct symptom profiles in a variety of domains, including social attention, friendships, social motivation, and language, differences in the way that autistic boys and girls communicate verbally are not yet well understood. Closely analyzing boys’ and girls’ socially-focused language during semi-structured clinical assessments could shed light on potential sex differences in the behavioral presentation of autistic individuals that may prove useful for identifying and effectively supporting autistic girls. Here, we compare social word use in verbally fluent autistic girls and boys during the interview sections of the ADOS-2 Module 3 and measure associations with clinical phenotype. Methods School-aged girls and boys with autism (N = 101, 25 females; aged 6–15) were matched on age, IQ, and parent/clinician ratings of autism symptom severity. Our primary analysis compared the number of social words produced by autistic boys and girls (normalized to account for differences in total word production). Social words are words that make reference to other people, including friends and family. Results There was a significant main effect of sex on social word production, such that autistic girls used more social words than autistic boys. To identify the specific types of words driving this effect, additional subcategories of friend and family words were analyzed. There was a significant effect of sex on friend words, with girls using significantly more friend words than boys. However, there was no significant main effect of sex on family words, suggesting that sex differences in social word production may be driven by girls talking more about friends compared to boys, not family. To assess relationships between word use and clinical phenotype, we modeled ADOS-2 Social Affect (SA) scores as a function of social word production. In the overall sample, social word use correlated significantly with ADOS-2 SA scores, indicating that participants who used more social words were rated as less socially impaired by clinicians. However, when examined in each sex separately, this result only held for boys. Limitations This study cannot speak to the ways in which social word use may differ for younger children, adults, or individuals who are not verbally fluent; in addition, there were more autistic boys than girls in our sample, making it difficult to detect small effects. Conclusions Autistic girls used significantly more social words than boys during a diagnostic assessment—despite being matched on age, IQ, and both parent- and clinician-rated autism symptom severity. Sex differences in linguistic markers of social phenotype in autism are especially important in light of the late or missed diagnoses that disproportionately affect autistic girls. Specifically, heightened talk about social topics could complicate autism referral and diagnosis when non-clinician observers expect a male-typical pattern of reduced social focus, which autistic girls may not always exhibit.

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“You Must Become a Chameleon to Survive”: Adolescent Experiences of Camouflaging

Cited by 55 publications

References 33 publications

“Masking Is Life”: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults

“Masking Is Life”: Experiences of Masking in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults

Exploring Autistic Adults’ Psychosocial Experiences Affecting Beginnings, Continuity, and Change in Camouflaging Over Time- A Qualitative Study

Friend matters: sex differences in social language during autism diagnostic interviews

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