Cognitive Flexibility Mediates the Associations Between Perceived Stress, Social Camouflaging and Mental Health Challenges in Autistic Adults.
Matthew J Hollocks, Goldie A McQuaid, Nancy R Lee and 1 others
PMID 40462453WHAT IT FOUND
In 806 autistic adults, lower self-reported cognitive flexibility significantly mediated the link between perceived stress, social camouflaging, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
This suggests targeting flexible thinking may help buffer mental health risks, though the cross-sectional design cannot prove causation.
Key findings
01Cognitive flexibility significantly mediated the relationship between perceived stress and both anxiety and depression.
02Cognitive flexibility, but not social flexibility, significantly mediated the relationship between social camouflaging and both anxiety and depression.
03The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine whether reduced flexibility causes mental health challenges or results from them.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, meaning it cannot establish cause and effect; it is unclear if low flexibility leads to mental health issues or vice versa. All data were self-reported, which introduces potential bias from shared method variance. The sample was predominantly White (82.6%) and excluded individuals with intellectual disabilities, limiting generalizability. The measure of cognitive flexibility used (FS-SR) has subscales with differing numbers of items, which may affect reliability comparisons.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as proof that improving cognitive flexibility will reduce anxiety or depression. The study is cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot demonstrate that changing flexibility causes changes in mental health outcomes.