A comparison of self-report and discrepancy measures of camouflaging: Exploring sex differences in diagnosed autistic versus high autistic trait young adults.
Victoria Milner, Emma Colvert, William Mandy and 1 others
PMID 36490366WHAT IT FOUND
Young adults with high autistic traits but no diagnosis scored higher on measures of effective camouflaging than those diagnosed.
Self-reported intent to camouflage was similar across groups. This suggests masking effectively may delay diagnosis, particularly for males.
Key findings
01Participants with high autistic traits but no formal diagnosis scored significantly higher on discrepancy measures of effective camouflaging than those with an autism diagnosis.
02There was no significant difference in self-reported camouflaging intent between diagnosed and high-trait groups, or between sexes overall.
03Discrepancy scores correlated with each other and with self-reported autistic traits, but self-reported camouflaging did not correlate with the theory-of-mind discrepancy score.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample size was relatively small when split into four sex and diagnosis groups, which may have reduced the power to detect certain differences. The study used a binary view of sex and did not include gender-diverse individuals. The sample was predominantly white, limiting generalizability to other ethnic groups. The study excluded individuals with learning disabilities or those who were nonverbal. The ADOS-2, used to calculate discrepancy scores, may not fully capture nontraditional presentations of autism, particularly in females.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that self-reported camouflaging scores reflect how effectively a person is masking. The study found that while diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals reported similar intent to camouflage, those without a diagnosis scored higher on measures of effective camouflaging. Relying only on self-report may miss those who are successfully hiding their traits from observers.