Mental wellbeing and psychosocial working conditions of autistic veterinary surgeons in the UK

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Smits, F., Houdmont, J., Hill, B. K., & Pickles, K. (2023). Mental wellbeing and psychosocial working conditions of autistic veterinary surgeons in the UK. Veterinary Record, 193(8), e3311-e3311. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3311

Publication date: 21 Aug 2023 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Femke Smits
  2. Jonathan Houdmont
  3. Bradley K Hill
  4. Kirstie Pickles *

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Certain autistic characteristics (such as hyper-focus and attention to detail) are valued by veterinary surgeons and autistic adults may disproportionately self-select into the profession. Links between mental wellbeing and retention in the veterinary profession highlight an imperative to profile autistic veterinary surgeons' mental wellbeing and identify protective factors. The psychosocial work environment may represent one such protective factor. We aimed to assess autistic veterinary surgeons' mental wellbeing, the extent to which their psychosocial working conditions achieved UK government management standards and links between these. METHODS: Eighty-five autistic veterinary surgeons completed the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards Indicator Tool. Descriptive comparisons were drawn with normative data; correlation and linear regression analyses examined relations between mental wellbeing and psychosocial working conditions. RESULTS: Mental wellbeing and psychosocial work environment quality were markedly below veterinary surgeon and general workforce norms. Psychosocial working conditions accounted for 44% of the unique variance in mental wellbeing, with 'control' and 'role' making a significant contribution. LIMITATION: This exploratory study involved a small self-selecting sample, raising the possibility of response bias. CONCLUSION: Work design centred on the enhancement of control and role clarity would likely support mental wellbeing in this population.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:31.

Cited references
33
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
3 / 33 (9.1%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
12 / 107 (11.2%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 12 / 37 (32.4%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 6 / 88 (6.8%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
37 / 107 (34.6%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 20 / 88 (22.7%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
25 / 37 (67.6%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 25 / 107 (23.4%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 14 / 20 (70.0%).
2 cited bibliography entries could not be fully enriched from DOI metadata.
Crossref: not found (1) · DataCite: not found (1)
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