Social anxiety, not masking, may drive mental health struggles in autistic adults
Autistic individuals often mask their traits to navigate social situations, a practice linked to poor mental health. A new study suggests these negative outcomes may actually be driven by underlying social anxiety rather than the act of camouflaging itself.
A recent study published in Autism Research suggests that social anxiety and social challenges may be driving higher rates of depression and distress in autistic adults, rather than the act of camouflaging itself. Camouflaging, or masking, involves suppressing autistic traits to fit in with social expectations, and is often linked to negative mental health outcomes.
However, the study's findings indicate that the negative impacts attributed to camouflaging might actually stem from overlapping issues like social anxiety and broader difficulties with social responsiveness. The researchers propose that current questionnaires used to assess camouflaging might be measuring overlapping concepts, highlighting the need for more precise tools to understand autistic well-being.
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