Ce que nous savons et ne savons pas sur le camouflage, la gestion des impressions et la santé mentale et le bien-être chez les personnes autistes

Titre original en anglais : What We Know and Do Not Know About Camouflaging, Impression Management, and Mental Health and Wellbeing in Autistic People

Khudiakova, V., Alexandrovsky, M., Ai, W., & Lai, M. C. (2024). What We Know and Do Not Know About Camouflaging, Impression Management, and Mental Health and Wellbeing in Autistic People. Autism Research, 18(2), 273-280. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3299

Date de publication: 24/12/2024 Ajout dans AutiHub: 04/07/2026 Type: Article Langue de l’article: Anglais

Cette publication est intégrée dans AutiHub via :

Auteurs

Auteur·ices des publications
4
Auteur·ices de la publication identifié·es comme autistes
1 / 4 (25,0 %)

Résumé

Le camouflage est une stratégie de gestion des impressions employée par certaines personnes autistes, largement considérée comme une réponse à la stigmatisation omniprésente entourant l’autisme dans la société. Les récits et les expériences vécues des personnes autistes établissent constamment un lien entre le camouflage et l’anxiété, la dépression, les risques suicidaires et l’épuisement autistique. La recherche quantitative doit encore déterminer la nature de ces relations, une part importante des études récentes fournissant des données probantes incohérentes. Bien que le camouflage puisse être une stratégie de survie imposée dans les environnements sociaux, il pourrait également contribuer à des résultats positifs tels que l’obtention d’un emploi et la formation de relations sociales positives, ce qui implique une interrelation complexe avec la santé mentale et le bien-être. Nous préconisons l’utilisation d’un cadre transactionnel de gestion des impressions pour comprendre le camouflage et le bien-être et résoudre les incohérences de la recherche. En examinant les transactions entre les caractéristiques individuelles et cognitives d’une personne, les stratégies de modification du comportement et les contextes sociaux particuliers dans lesquels elle se trouve, ce cadre oriente de nouvelles directions de recherche empirique afin de délimiter les relations entre le camouflage, la gestion des impressions, la santé mentale et le bien-être. Il est nécessaire de développer de multiples mesures du camouflage qui délimitent les motivations, la capacité, l’effort requis et l’efficacité perçue du camouflage, et d’examiner la manière dont les comportements sociaux d’une personne sont perçus dans différents environnements sociaux. La recherche devrait également se concentrer sur l’intersectionnalité, les influences socioculturelles et la diversité des voix autistes afin d’étudier les expériences de camouflage sensibles au contexte dans l’ensemble de la population autiste.

Camouflaging is an impression management strategy employed by some autistic people, widely seen as a response to the pervasive stigma surrounding autism in society. Autistic narratives and lived experiences consistently link camouflaging to anxiety, depression, suicide risks, and autistic burnout. Quantitative research is yet to determine the nature of these relationships, with a significant portion of recent studies providing inconsistent evidence. While camouflaging can be a compelled survival strategy in social environments, it might also contribute to positive outcomes such as securing employment and forming positive social relationships, implicating a complex interrelationship with mental health and wellbeing. We advocate for using a transactional impression management framework to understand camouflaging and wellbeing and address the inconsistencies in research. Through examining the transactions among a person's individual and cognitive characteristics, behavior modification strategies, and the particular social contexts they find themselves in, this framework guides new empirical research directions to delineate the relationships between camouflaging, impression management, mental health, and wellbeing. There is a need to develop multiple measures of camouflaging that delineate the motivations, ability, effortfulness, and perceived effectiveness of camouflaging and examine how a person's social behaviors are perceived in different social environments. Research should also focus on intersectionality, sociocultural influences, and diverse autistic voices to study context-sensitive camouflaging experiences across the autistic population.

Bibliographie citée par cette référence

Les références citées sont importées depuis des sources externes de métadonnées lorsqu’elles sont disponibles. La liste peut être partielle.

Vue d’ensemble de l’inclusion dans la bibliographie

Ces indicateurs décrivent la bibliographie citée importée pour cette publication. Les métriques de références citées utilisent le total des références citées comme dénominateur. Les métriques d’auteurices cité·es indiquent si elles utilisent toutes les occurrences d’auteurices cité·es ou seulement les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices déjà intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Ils utilisent les rattachements mis en cache entre les auteurices cité·es et les auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Dernier calcul : 16/08/2026 11:30.

Références citées
65
Nombre total de références citées intégrées pour cette publication.
Références citées avec un·e auteur·ice identifié·e comme autiste
5 / 65 (7,7 %)
Occurrences d’auteur·ices cité·es identifié·es comme autistes
8 / 259 (3,1 %)
Parmi les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub : 8 / 107 (7,5 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es identifié·es comme autistes : 8 / 201 (4,0 %).
Occurrences citées rattachées à la base AutiHub
107 / 259 (41,3 %)
Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es : 62 / 201 (30,8 %)
Occurrences rattachées, non identifiées comme autistes
99 / 107 (92,5 %)
Parmi les seules occurrences rattachées. Sur l’ensemble des occurrences d’auteurices cité·es : 99 / 259 (38,2 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es, non identifié·es comme autistes : 54 / 62 (87,1 %).
  1. Jerry Suls , Anthony G. Greenwald (1982). Psychological perspectives on the self .
    Type: Livre OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W345530196
    OpenAlex
  2. Wei Ai , William A. Cunningham , Meng-Chuan Lai (2022). Reconsidering autistic ‘camouflaging’ as transactional impression management . Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(8), 631-645. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Elizabeth M. Radulski (2022). Conceptualising Autistic Masking, Camouflaging, and Neurotypical Privilege: Towards a Minority Group Model of Neurodiversity . Human Development, 66(2), 113-127. S. Karger AG.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  4. Patrick W Corrigan , Deepa Rao (2012). On the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness: Stages, Disclosure, and Strategies for Change . The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(8), 464-469. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  5. Wei Ai , William A. Cunningham , Meng-Chuan Lai (2024). The dimensional structure of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) and predictors of camouflaging in a representative general population sample . Comprehensive Psychiatry, 128, 152434. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  6. Stephanie Petty , Shannon Allen , Hannah Pickup , Bethannie Woodier (2023). A Blog-Based Study of Autistic Adults' Experiences of Aloneness and Connection and the Interplay with Well-Being: Corpus-Based and Thematic Analyses . Autism in Adulthood, 5(4), 437-449. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  7. Jonathan M. Harris , Catherine S. Best , Vivien J. Moffat , Michael D. Spencer , Ruth C. M. Philip , Michael J. Power et al. (2008). Autistic Traits and Cognitive Performance in Young People with Mild Intellectual Impairment . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(7), 1241-1249. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  8. Wei Ai , William A. Cunningham , Meng-Chuan Lai (2024). Camouflaging, internalized stigma, and mental health in the general population . International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 70(7), 1239-1253. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  9. Joel M. Le Forestier , Elizabeth Page‐Gould , Calvin K. Lai , Alison L. Chasteen (2020). Concealability beliefs facilitate navigating intergroup contexts . European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1210-1226. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  10. Dale G. Larson , Robert L. Chastain (1990). Self-Concealment: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Health Implications . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(4), 439-455. Guilford Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  11. Javad Alaghband-rad , Arman Hajikarim-Hamedani , Mahtab Motamed (2023). Camouflage and masking behavior in adult autism . Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1108110-1108110. Frontiers Media SA.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  12. Joseph Henrich , Steven J. Heine , Ara Norenzayan (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2-3), 61-83. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  13. Aieshea L. Banks , Karen J. Mainess , Heather Javaherian , Misaki N. Natsuaki (2024). “Very Misunderstood”: Self-Perceived Social Communication Experiences of Autistic Young Adults . Youth, 4(4), 1628-1646. MDPI AG.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. Rackeb Tesfaye , Valérie Courchesne , Pat Mirenda , Wendy Mitchell , David Nicholas , Ilina Singh et al. (2023). Autism voices: Perspectives of the needs, challenges, and hopes for the future of autistic youth . Autism, 27(4), 1142-1156. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  15. Clayton R. Critcher , Melissa J. Ferguson (2014). The cost of keeping it hidden: Decomposing concealment reveals what makes it depleting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(2), 721-735. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/a0033468 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2103459258
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Baumeister R. F. (2012). Handbook of Self and Identity . Handbook of Self and Identity, 180.
    Type: Autre
    Crossref
  17. Meng-Chuan Lai , Michael Lombardo , Amber Ruigrok , Bhismadev Chakrabarti , Bonnie Auyeung , Péter Szatmári et al. (2017). Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism . Autism, 21(6), 690-702. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  18. Mark R. Leary , Robin M. Kowalski (1990). Impression management: A literature review and two-component model. Psychological Bulletin, 107(1), 34-47. American Psychological Association (APA).
    OpenAlex
  19. Ben Belek (2023). ‘A Smaller Mask’: Freedom and Authenticity in Autistic Space . Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 47(3), 626-646. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  20. Goldie A. McQuaid , Justine Gendy , Nancy Raitano Lee , Gregory L. Wallace (2023). Sexual Minority Identities in Autistic Adults: Diversity and Associations with Mental Health Symptoms and Subjective Quality of Life . Autism in Adulthood, 5(2), 139-153. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. Stephen M. Thielke (2004). Handbook of Self and Identity . Psychiatric Services, 55(9), 1071-1072. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
    OpenAlex
  22. Louise Bradley , Rebecca Shaw , Simon Baron-Cohen , Sarah Cassidy (2021). Autistic Adults' Experiences of Camouflaging and Its Perceived Impact on Mental Health . Autism in Adulthood, 3(4), 320-329. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  23. Erin Robinson , Laura Hull , K.V. Petrides (2020). Big Five model and trait emotional intelligence in camouflaging behaviours in autism . Personality and Individual Differences, 152, 109565. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  24. John E. Pachankis , Susan D. Cochran , Vickie M. Mays (2015). The mental health of sexual minority adults in and out of the closet: A population-based study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(5), 890-901. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  25. ALEXANDER THOMAS , STELLA CHESS (1981). The Role of Temperament in the Contributions of Individuals to Their Development . Dans Individuals As Producers of their Development (pp. 231-255). Elsevier.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  26. Julia Cook , Laura Hull , Laura Crane , Will Mandy (2021). Camouflaging in autism: A systematic review . Clinical Psychology Review, 89, 102080. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. Lucy Anne Livingston , Emma Colvert , the Social Relationships Study Team , Patrick Bolton , Francesca Happé (2019). Good social skills despite poor theory of mind: exploring compensation in autism spectrum disorder . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(1), 102-110. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  28. Michelle Dean , Robin Harwood , Connie Kasari (2017). The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder . Autism, 21(6), 678-689. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  29. Valeria Khudiakova , Emmeline Russell , Sophie Sowden , Andrew Surtees (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of mental health outcomes associated with camouflaging in autistic people . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 118, 102492. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  30. Laura Hull , K. V. Petrides , Carrie Allison , Paula Smith , Simon Baron-Cohen , Meng-Chuan Lai et al. (2017). “Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519-2534. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  31. Wikke J. van der Putten , Joost A. Agelink van Rentergem , Tulsi A. Radhoe , Carolien Torenvliet , Annabeth P. Groenman , Audrey J.J. Mol et al. (2023). How to measure camouflaging? A conceptual replication of the validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire in Dutch adults . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 100, 102072. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  32. Joshua A. Evans , Elizabeth J. Krumrei-Mancuso , Steven V. Rouse (2024). What You Are Hiding Could Be Hurting You: Autistic Masking in Relation to Mental Health, Interpersonal Trauma, Authenticity, and Self-Esteem . Autism in Adulthood, 6(2), 229-240. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex
  33. Laura Hull , Will Mandy , Meng-Chuan Lai , Simon Baron-Cohen , Carrie Allison , Paula Smith et al. (2019). Development and Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(3), 819-833. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  34. Sarah L Field , Marc O Williams , Catherine R G Jones , John R E Fox (2024). A meta-ethnography of autistic people’s experiences of social camouflaging and its relationship with mental health . Autism, 28(6), 1328-1343. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  35. Sici Zhuang , Diana Weiting Tan , Susan Reddrop , Lydia Dean , Murray T. Maybery , Iliana Magiati (2023). Psychosocial factors associated with camouflaging in autistic people and its relationship with mental health and well-being: A mixed methods systematic review . Clinical Psychology Review, 105, 102335. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  36. Goffman E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life . The presentation of self in everyday life.
    Type: Autre
    Crossref
  37. Victoria Milner , Emma Colvert , Will Mandy , Francesca Happé (2023). A comparison of self‐report and discrepancy measures of camouflaging: Exploring sex differences in diagnosed autistic versus high autistic trait young adults . Autism Research, 16(3), 580-590. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.2873 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4311020931
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  38. Iris Schneid , Aviad E. Raz (2020). The mask of autism: Social camouflaging and impression management as coping/normalization from the perspectives of autistic adults . Social Science & Medicine, 248, 112826. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  39. Benjamin Hannon , Will Mandy , Laura Hull (2023). A comparison of methods for measuring camouflaging in autism . Autism Research, 16(1), 12-29. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.2850 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4310081003
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  40. Courtney Jorgenson , Timothy Lewis , Chad Rose , Stephen Kanne (2020). Social Camouflaging in Autistic and Neurotypical Adolescents: A Pilot Study of Differences by Sex and Diagnosis . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(12), 4344-4355. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex
  41. Minako Hongo , Fumiyo Oshima , Siqing Guan , Tōru Takahashi , Yusuke Nitta , Mikuko Seto et al. (2024). Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the camouflaging autistic traits questionnaire . Autism Research, 17(6), 1205-1217. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.3137 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4395453271
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  42. John E. Pachankis , Conor P. Mahon , Skyler D. Jackson , Benjamin K. Fetzner , Richard Bränström (2020). Sexual orientation concealment and mental health: A conceptual and meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 146(10), 831-871. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  43. Stephanie J. Howe , Laura Hull , Felicity Sedgewick , Benjamin Hannon , Carly A. McMorris (2023). Understanding camouflaging and identity in autistic children and adolescents using photo-elicitation . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 108, 102232. Elsevier BV.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  44. Goldie A. McQuaid , Nancy Raitano Lee , Gregory L. Wallace (2022). Camouflaging in autism spectrum disorder: Examining the roles of sex, gender identity, and diagnostic timing . Autism, 26(2), 552-559. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  45. Emilie Jacobs , Poline Simon , Nathalie Nader-Grosbois (2020). Social Cognition in Children With Non-specific Intellectual Disabilities: An Exploratory Study . Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1884-1884. Frontiers Media SA.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  46. So Yoon Kim , Da-Yea Song , Kristen Bottema‐Beutel , Kristen Gillespie-Lynch (2024). Time to level up: A systematic review of interventions aiming to reduce stigma toward autistic people . Autism, 28(4), 798-815. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  47. John F. Rauthmann (2021). Capturing interactions, correlations, fits, and transactions: A Person-Environment Relations Model . Dans The Handbook of Personality Dynamics and Processes (pp. 427-522). Elsevier.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  48. Laura Hull , Lily Levy , Meng-Chuan Lai , K. V. Petrides , Simon Baron-Cohen , Carrie Allison et al. (2021). Is social camouflaging associated with anxiety and depression in autistic adults? Molecular Autism, 12(1), 13-13. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex
  49. Emily J.H. Jones (1982). Psychological Perspectives on the Self . Psychological Perspectives on the Self, 231.
    Type: Autre
    Crossref
  50. Ella Perry , Will Mandy , Laura Hull , Eilidh Cage (2022). Understanding Camouflaging as a Response to Autism-Related Stigma: A Social Identity Theory Approach . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(2), 800-810. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex
  51. (s. d.). Khudiakova V. 2024.“An Analysis of the Social Aspects of Camouflaging in Autism.”Unpublished Master's Thesis University of Birmingham.
    Type: Autre
    Crossref
  52. Masaki Tamura , Eilidh Cage , Ella Perry , Minako Hongo , Tōru Takahashi , Mikuko Seto et al. (2025). Understanding Camouflaging, Stigma, and Mental Health for Autistic People in Japan . Autism in Adulthood, 7(1), 52-65. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  53. Sici Zhuang , Mackenzie Bougoure , Dawn-Joy Leong , Lydia Dean , Susan Reddrop , Kristin Naragon-Gainey et al. (2025). Examining an integrated path model of psychological and sociocultural predictors of camouflaging in autistic adults . Autism, 29(9), 2328-2343. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  54. Kayla M. Malone , Jamie N. Pearson , Kayla N. Palazzo , Lonnie D. Manns , Amelia Q. Rivera , DeVoshia L. Mason Martin (2022). The Scholarly Neglect of Black Autistic Adults in Autism Research . Autism in Adulthood, 4(4), 271-280. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  55. Jiedi Lei , Eleanor Leigh , Tony Charman , Ailsa Russell , Matthew J. Hollocks (2024). Understanding the relationship between social camouflaging in autism and safety behaviours in social anxiety in autistic and non‐autistic adolescents . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65(3), 285-297. Wiley.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  56. Chun-Hao Liu , Yi-Lung Chen , Pei-Jung Chen , Hsing-Chang Ni , Meng-Chuan Lai (2024). Exploring camouflaging by the Chinese version Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire in Taiwanese autistic and non-autistic adolescents: An initial development . Autism, 28(3), 690-704. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  57. Katharine McKinnon , Mackenzie Bougoure , Sici Zhuang , Diana Weiting Tan , Iliana Magiati (2025). Exploring the construct validity of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire: A factor analytic study . Autism, 29(3), 642-658. SAGE Publications.
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  58. Erving Goffman (2023). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life . Dans Social Theory Re-Wired (pp. 450-459). Routledge.
    Type: Chapitre de livre DOI: 10.4324/9781003320609-59 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4367314869
    OpenAlex
  59. Raven Bureau , Marie Riebel , Luisa Weiner , Romain Coutelle , Julie Dachez , Céline Clément (2024). French Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(9), 3549-3558. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex
  60. Paulhus D. L. (2008). Self‐Presentation of Personality . Handbook of personality psychology, 19, 492.
    Type: Autre
    Crossref