Understanding autistic identity contingencies: The chain mediation effect of autism acceptance and loneliness in ableist microaggressions and social camouflage.

The study measured everything at one time point, so it cannot show that ableist microaggressions caused lower acceptance, loneliness or camouflage. It included only Japanese autistic adults aged 18 to 39, so it may not apply to other countries, children, adolescents or older adults. Participants were recruited online through a job platform for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities, which may exclude autistic adults without internet access, employment interest or a diagnosis. All measures were self-reported, and the camouflaging questionnaire captures consciously reported camouflage rather than implicit or observed behaviour. The study planned 550 participants but recruited 330, and 302 of 330 reported receiving treatment at a mental health clinic, so it is not a general sample of autistic adults. This was not an intervention study, so it cannot tell therapists whether reducing ableist microaggressions or improving acceptance changes camouflage or mental health.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest and no financial support for the research, authorship or publication. The study was funded by JST RISTEX Japan, Grant Number JPMJRS22 K4, and the funder had no role in design, data collection, analysis, publication decision or manuscript preparation.

Do not conclude that ableist microaggressions cause assimilation or that reducing ableist comments will reduce camouflaging. The study is cross-sectional and self-reported, so it shows associations, not causation.