Camouflaging, not sensory processing or autistic identity, predicts eating disorder symptoms in autistic adults

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Bradley, S., Moore, F., Duffy, F., Clark, L., Suratwala, T., Knightsmith, P., & Gillespie-Smith, K. (2024). Camouflaging, not sensory processing or autistic identity, predicts eating disorder symptoms in autistic adults. Autism, 28(11), 2858-2868. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241245749

Publication date: 18 Apr 2024 Added to AutiHub: 17 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 7 (14.3%)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the role that Autistic identity, sensory processing and camouflaging behaviours have on eating disorder symptomology in Autistic adults. Previous research has focused on cognitive and sensory factors to explain the association between autism and eating disorders, but the roles of social identity and camouflaging are yet to be explored. Autistic participants (N = 180) were recruited from NHS settings and community groups. The participants completed online questionnaires measuring autistic identity, camouflaging behaviours, sensory processing, autistic traits and eating disorder symptoms. Multiple regression revealed that camouflaging significantly predicted eating disorder symptoms. Although sensory processing was related, it did not significantly predict eating disorder symptom severity. In addition, there was no significant relationship between autistic identity and eating disorder symptom severity. This study highlights the impact that camouflaging behaviours and sensory processing can have on eating disorder symptomatology in autism and may indicate important considerations for the treatment of eating disorders in Autistic people. Lay Abstract This study aimed to explore the impact of Autistic identity (i.e. feeling like you belong to the Autistic community), sensory profiles (e.g. being over or under responsive to sensations) and camouflaging behaviours (i.e. masking) on eating disorder symptoms in Autistic adults. 180 Autistic people were recruited from the community and NHS. The Autistic people completed online questionnaires measuring Autistic identity, sensory profiles, camouflaging behaviours, autistic traits and eating disorder symptoms. The analysis showed that higher levels of camouflaging behaviour predicted higher levels of eating disorder symptoms. Sensory profiles were related to but did not predict eating disorder symptoms and there was no relationship between level of Autistic identity and eating disorder symptoms. This shows that camouflaging is the most important predictor of eating disorder symptoms in Autistic people, and warrants further exploration.

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: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
64
With a DOI
58
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
4 / 64 (6.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 64 (3.1%)
References with detected author names
62 / 64 (96.9%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
2
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
294
From DOI or external metadata
294
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
110 / 294 (37.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 184 / 294 (62.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
7 / 294 (2.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 7 / 110 (6.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 7 / 225 (3.1%).
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