Investigating the mental health of Autistic working parents: A scoping review

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Gore, K., Gilbert, M., Hayward, S. M., Flower, R. L., & Barbaro, J. (2024). Investigating the mental health of Autistic working parents: A scoping review. Neurodiversity, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241272174

Publication date: 1 Jan 2024 Added to AutiHub: 7 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Katherine Gore
  2. Melissa Gilbert
  3. Susan M Hayward
  4. Rebecca L. Flower
  5. Josephine Barbaro *

Abstract

Few studies have explored the mental health of Autistic working parents, despite mental health being a research priority for Autistic people. This scoping review aimed to assess the type and extent of evidence relating to the mental health of Autistic working parents. Utilising the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodology for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, a total of 9,486 records were screened, with 12 studies included. Data were charted using a data extraction template. Data extracted for each source study included: title, year of publication, author(s), country/region of origin, aim(s), population/sample size, proportion of Autistic working parents in study population, sex and/or gender of Autistic participants, method, mental health measures, and findings. The review identified that more research is needed to establish if the intersection of being Autistic, employed, and a parent (including parenting neurodivergent children) leads to differences in mental health in Autistic working parents compared to other populations and to determine if tailored supports are required for Autistic working parents.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 01:04.

Cited references
57
With a DOI
49
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
7
7 / 57 (12.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
9 / 57 (15.8%)
References with detected author names
51 / 57 (89.5%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
4
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
244
From DOI or external metadata
244
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
101 / 244 (41.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 143 / 244 (58.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
13 / 244 (5.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 13 / 101 (12.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 12 / 213 (5.6%).
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