Understanding Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: Integrating Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors

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

Rebours, C., Kostrubiec, V., & Kruck, J. (2026). Understanding Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: Integrating Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors. Autism, 30(6), 1452-1464. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261433985

Publication date: 2 Apr 2026 Added to AutiHub: 17 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)

Abstract

Camouflaging refers to strategies used by autistic individuals to mask traits and adapt to neurotypical norms. Beyond socio-cognitive abilities, recent work suggests that camouflaging is also shaped by psychosocial factors. This study tested an integrative, prediction-oriented model of camouflaging. We hypothesized that higher levels of camouflaging would be associated with socio-cognitive functioning, perceived social misfit, mental health, and lower autism acceptance, and that an integrative model combining these factors would predict individual differences in camouflaging. Participants were 120 autistic adults (M = 37.4 years, SD = 10.4), mostly officially diagnosed and predominantly assigned female at birth. Self-report measures assessed camouflaging, executive functioning, perceived social-cognition differences, autism acceptance, social support, and mental health. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to estimate the contribution of each predictor to camouflaging. The final model explained a moderate proportion of variance in camouflaging (R ² = 0.27; standardized root mean squared residual = 0.05). Executive dysfunction, perceived social-cognition differences, and personal acceptance showed positive associations with camouflaging, whereas intellectual functioning, perceived acceptance, and social support did not contribute meaningfully. Camouflaging reflects a dynamic interplay between perceived social misfit, executive demands, and identity-related processes rather than a fixed cognitive ability, highlighting the importance of affirming social environments. Lay Abstract Camouflaging refers to the strategies autistic people use to hide their autistic personality in order to fit into social expectations. While camouflaging can sometimes help in social situations, it often comes with serious costs, including stress, anxiety, depression, and autistic burnout. Many autistic adults report feeling pressure to camouflage because of stigma and how society views autism. Understanding what drives camouflaging is important to reduce its harmful effects and to better support autistic people. This study explored which factors are most strongly linked to camouflaging in autistic adults. Instead of looking only at thinking skills such as intelligence, we included measures of executive functioning (everyday planning), social experiences, autism acceptance, and mental health. A total of 120 autistic adults completed online questionnaires. We used statistical models to test which factors predicted camouflaging. We found that camouflaging was most strongly linked to three factors: difficulties with executive functioning, feeling like a misfit in social situations, and how much participants personally accepted their autistic identity. Intelligence, general social support, and feeling accepted by others as autistic played little role. These findings show that camouflaging is not simply about cognitive skills, but also about self-perception and social pressure. Creating more accepting environments and supporting autistic identity may reduce the need to camouflage and protect mental health.

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: 23 Oct 2026 07:41.

Cited references
77
With a DOI
72
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
22 / 77 (28.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 77 (3.9%)
References with detected author names
74 / 77 (96.1%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
3
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
344
From DOI or external metadata
344
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
216 / 344 (62.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 128 / 344 (37.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
29 / 344 (8.4%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 29 / 216 (13.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 21 / 249 (8.4%).
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