Camouflaging in an everyday social context: An interpersonal recall study

Area of Science:

• Neurodevelopmental conditions
• Social psychology
• Autism spectrum disorder research

Background:

• Autistic individuals frequently employ camouflaging strategies to mask autistic traits in various social settings.
• These strategies are often adopted despite personal costs, impacting work, education, healthcare interactions, and personal relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the phenomenon of camouflaging in autistic adults during everyday social interactions.
• To understand the motivations, experiences, and consequences associated with autistic camouflaging.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study involving 17 autistic adults.
• Participants were filmed during a social interaction with a stranger and subsequently interviewed about their camouflaging behaviors during a video playback.

Main Results:

• Autistic adults desire social connection but often feel uncertain due to negative past experiences.
• Camouflaging is used to facilitate social belonging but leads to adverse effects such as fatigue, anxiety, and strained friendships.
• Some individuals opted for more authentic autistic social behaviors instead of camouflaging.

Conclusions:

• Autistic individuals' behaviors are often shaped by societal treatment and expectations from non-autistic people.
• Interventions supporting authentic autistic social interaction could be beneficial, contingent on non-autistic acceptance and understanding.