Brief Report: Does Autistic Community Connectedness Moderate the Relationship Between Masking and Wellbeing?

Abstract

Background:

Masking involves blending in or covering a stigmatized identity, to avoid discrimination and to “pass” within society. Autistic people often report masking, both intentionally and unintentionally, to get by in social situations. Autistic people who report high rates of masking also tend to experience poorer mental health. It is important we understand whether there are variables that can protect against the negative effects of masking. One such potential variable is autistic community connectedness (ACC)—being part of and belonging to the autistic community. Past research suggests there are benefits for autistic people socially connecting with other autistic people. We investigated whether ACC could moderate the relationship between masking and wellbeing.

Methods:

One hundred ninety-six autistic people completed an online survey including measures of ACC, masking, and mental wellbeing. We used moderation analysis to test whether ACC acted as a buffer between masking and wellbeing.

Results:

Higher self-reported masking related to poorer mental wellbeing. Higher ACC related to more positive wellbeing. Higher ACC correlated with more masking. However, there was no interaction effect, and ACC did not moderate the relationship between masking and wellbeing.

Conclusions:

Although ACC did relate to more positive mental wellbeing overall, it did not moderate the negative relationship between masking and wellbeing. If masking relates to the prejudice faced by autistic people, those with greater attachment to the autistic community may also be more aware of discrimination against their community. Furthermore, autistic people who are more connected might experience a higher salience of masking when moving between autistic and nonautistic settings. Tackling prejudice toward autistic people is critical in helping to reduce the negative effects associated with masking, and we must endeavor to change perceptions and increase inclusion of autistic people.

Community brief

Why is this an important issue?

Lots of autistic people say that they often have to ‘mask’ the fact they are autistic. This means they might (on purpose or by accident) use strategies like planning a social script before meeting someone, trying to hide their stims, or forcing themselves to use eye contact because non-autistic people expect this. Previous research has shown that the more someone masks, the more they experience poor mental health and wellbeing. We wondered whether feeling connected to the autistic community (“autistic community connectedness”) could help protect autistic people from these negative masking outcomes, because many autistic people talk about how they get joy out of being part of this community.

What was the purpose of this study?

We aimed to see whether autistic community connectedness could play a role in protecting autistic people against the negative effects of masking on mental wellbeing.

What did the researchers do?

We used an online survey which included questions about masking, connectedness to the autistic community, and mental wellbeing. One hundred and ninety-six autistic people completed the survey. We used an analysis called ‘moderation analysis’ which can be used to see if something is acting like a buffer or protector between two things (in this case, masking and wellbeing).

What were the results of the study?

Although people with higher autistic community connectedness generally had more positive mental wellbeing overall, we found that community connectedness was not acting like a protector. In other words, masking still related to poorer wellbeing, even when someone had high autistic community connectedness.

What do these findings add to what was already known?

Our findings show that autistic community connectedness can be something positive for mental wellbeing, but we think that masking keeps happening because there is so much stigma and prejudice towards autistic people. It's difficult for autistic people to “take the mask off”, and people who are more connected to the autistic community may be even more aware of the prejudice and discrimination experienced by the autistic community. Our findings provide further support for the idea that masking has a lot to do with experiences of stigma.

What are potential weaknesses in the study?

Our participants were mostly female, and we recruited them via online communities. There may already be high feelings of autistic community connectedness in these participants, so our findings won't be the same for everyone, and it would be useful to have more people who actively reject being part of the autistic community within studies like ours, as well as having more diverse participants involved.

How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?

We show that autistic community connectedness is related to wellbeing, and we need to support autistic people to feel like they can freely explore this community and decide whether they want to get involved or not. If we want to help autistic people mask less, we really need to work harder on creating societies that are open to authentically autistic people.