Camouflaging, internalized stigma, and mental health in the general population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Camouflaging, the strategies that some autistic people use to hide their differences, has been hypothesized to trigger mental health ramifications. Camouflaging might reflect ubiquitous impression management experiences that are not unique to autistic people and similarly impact the mental health of non-autistic people.

Aims

We first examined whether individuals in the general population camouflage and manage impressions while experiencing mental health repercussions, and how gender and neurodivergent traits modified these associations. We then assessed how camouflaging and impression management arose from internalized stigma, and their inter-relationships in shaping mental health outcomes.

Methods

Data were collected from 972 adults from a representative U

SUBMITTER: Ai W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11528950 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature