Shining a Light on a Hidden Population: Social Functioning and Mental Health in Women Reporting Autistic Traits But Lacking Diagnosis.
Hannah L Belcher, Sharon Morein-Zamir, Steven D Stagg and 1 others
PMID 35593995WHAT IT FOUND
Women who scored high on an autism screening test but lacked a diagnosis showed better social functioning than diagnosed autistic women, yet still scored lower than non-autistic women.
They reported similar levels of anxiety and depression to diagnosed autistic women. This suggests undiagnosed autistic women face real social difficulties and mental health risks.
Key findings
01Women scoring high on the autism screen without a diagnosis had higher empathy scores than diagnosed autistic women, but this pattern was not found in men.
02Undiagnosed women with high autistic traits reported significantly more social impairments than non-autistic women, particularly in engagement and independence, though they scored higher than diagnosed autistic women.
03Anxiety and depression scores were similar between diagnosed and undiagnosed women with high autistic traits, and both groups scored higher than non-autistic women.
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 sample had an unusually high percentage of autistic and probable autistic participants, suggesting selection bias where advertisements attracted those already aware of autism. The study relied entirely on self-report measures, which may be influenced by gender norms or awareness of traits. There were very few probable autistic men in Study 2 (n=9), making comparisons between genders unreliable. The sample was predominantly white British and student-heavy, limiting generalisability to the wider UK population. Autism diagnoses were self-reported and not clinically confirmed in all cases, particularly for the 'probable autistic' group who were defined by a screening score rather than clinical assessment.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the higher empathy and social functioning scores of undiagnosed women as evidence that they are less impaired or do not need support. They still scored significantly lower than non-autistic women on most social domains and had similar mental health difficulties to diagnosed autistic women.