The impact of a positive autism identity and autistic community solidarity on social anxiety and mental health in autistic young people.
Kate Cooper, Ailsa J Russell, Jiedi Lei and 1 others
PMID 36062470WHAT IT FOUND
Feeling positive about being autistic linked to better mental health, but did not significantly reduce social anxiety once autism traits were accounted for.
Solidarity with other autistic people improved well-being but had no effect on social anxiety. Self-reported autism traits were the strongest predictor of social anxiety.
Key findings
01Higher satisfaction with one's autism identity predicted better psychological well-being and lower social anxiety, but solidarity with other autistic people predicted well-being without reducing social anxiety.
02Self-reported autism traits were the most significant predictor of social anxiety; adding identity variables did not significantly improve the model.
03The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine whether positive identity improves mental health or whether better mental health allows for a more positive identity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that positive identity causes better mental health; the relationship could be reversed or bidirectional. Participants were recruited from a university summer school, meaning they were likely high-functioning, motivated, and already connected to academic or community structures, limiting generalizability to all autistic young people. The measures were self-reported, and the authors note that the autism traits scale may reflect beliefs about one's own differences rather than objective traits. The sample was predominantly Caucasian (90%) and male (68%), limiting applicability to other demographic groups.
Declared interests
Funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship. No other conflicts of interest reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that fostering solidarity with the autistic community will reduce social anxiety. The study found that while solidarity improved well-being, it had no significant effect on social anxiety scores once autism traits were controlled for.