Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Autistic adults consistently report inadequate post-diagnostic support and a persistent gap between autism science and accessible, strengths-based resources for...

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Autistic individuals experience higher rates of depression and anxiety compared with nonautistic individuals; however, there are few services and programs speci...

Autism in Adulthood | 137 followers on LinkedIn. The peer-reviewed journal for research & scholarship on the most pressing issues affecting the lives of autistic adults | Autism in Adulthood is a ...

Background: There have been sporadic and disturbing media accounts of autistic people engaging with extreme ideologies, with comparatively little systematic exp...

Background: While there is growing interest in the relationship between social media (SM) use and psychosocial well-being, little is known about this relationsh...

Background: Ethnic and racial disparities in autism diagnosis have prompted growing interest in the role of “culture” in shaping these inequalities. However, mu...

In this Perspective, we summarize the evidence to date around the use of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) as a tool in research and clinic...

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Background: In the United Kingdom, more than 2.5 million adults with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivi...

Background: Firsthand accounts by autistic people describe a need for regular time alone. However, there is little in the literature that explores (1) why time ...

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Background: Autistic adults are at high risk of co-occurring mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicidality. E...

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death for autistic people worldwide, but there is remarkably little research addressing suicide prevention strategies ...

Background: Many autistic people camouflage their autistic traits to fit into non-autistic environments. While psychosocial factors influence camouflaging, its development and relationship with these ...

Background: Autistic Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and/or Questioning (LGBTQIA+) people are at a greater risk for mental health challenges than their Autistic non-LGBT...

Given the dearth of research on adulthood in autism prior to the last decade, we need methods to accelerate progress. One area of interest is mental health, but studies focusing on isolated methods or...

Background: Autistic adults have an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, yet little is known about how those supporting them identify or discuss suicide risk. Research suggests that auti...

Background: Many autistic people camouflage their autistic traits to fit into non-autistic environments. While psychosocial factors influence camouflaging, its development and relationship with these ...

Background: Autistic Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and/or Questioning (LGBTQIA+) people are at a greater risk for mental health challenges than their Autistic non-LGBT...

Given the dearth of research on adulthood in autism prior to the last decade, we need methods to accelerate progress. One area of interest is mental health, but studies focusing on isolated methods or...

Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...

Autism in Adulthood

Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...

Loneliness is a common emotion experienced by many, but previous research indicates higher rates of loneliness within the autistic adult community. Led by Kana Grace, an autistic researcher, this s…

Background: Loneliness is a major public health concern, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health. Autistic adults self-report higher levels of loneliness compared with non-autistic adults, y...

Background: Autistic people experience worse mental health outcomes than non-autistic people. Masking (concealing autistic traits) is found to relate to poor mental health. Research shows that autistic people indicate relationships between masking and difficulties creating or maintaining a sense of identity. Personal identity is rarely studied within autism research. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the connection between identity formation difficulties (both social and personal) and its impact on poor mental health in autistic people. It examines levels of identity conflict and distress in autistic and non-autistic people and whether identity distress mediates and identity conflict moderates the relationship between masking and psychological distress. Method: Data were collected for autistic (n = 139) and non-autistic people (n = 133) using an online survey. Results: Autistic people were found to experience higher levels of identity distress, conflict, and psychological distress. Identity distress represents a full mediation of the relationship between masking and psychological distress in the autistic cohort, but a partial mediation in the non-autistic cohort. Identity conflict did not moderate any relationships within the model for either cohort. However, it did have a significant direct relationship with masking identity distress and psychological distress. Conclusions: These findings suggest that autistic people may experience worse mental health outcomes due to difficulties with cohesive identity formation. Additional research into the role of autism in identity development may identify other areas in which identity difficulties negatively impact autistic people, such as long-term planning and suicidality.