A new study from our Department of Psychology has found that identity distress (difficulty forming a cohesive identity) could be a behind the higher rates of poor mental health experienced by autistic people.
Understanding the roots of poor mental health
Until now it had been thought that masking, where autistic people hide certain stigmatised autistic traits of theirs as a survival strategy, was behind the elevated incidence of poor mental health.
However, this new study found that identity distress rather than masking itself, negatively impacts autistic people's long-term mental health.
The research team suggest that masking makes it harder for autistic people to form a strong sense of self, leading to identity distress - a deep psychological discomfort due to an uncertainty or instability in one's identity.
Higher levels of identity distress
The study, published in the journal Autism in Adulthood, undertook an online survey with over 290 autistic and non-autistic participants.
The survey looked at identity distress, masking, psychological distress and identity conflict.
The results showed that autistic people had significantly higher levels of identity distress, identity conflict and psychological distress than non-autistic people.
Hope for effective help
The new insights from this study could reframe understandings of the issues underpinning the disproportionate rates of poor mental health in the autistic community - offering hope for new, more effective ways to help address this.
For example, the researchers suggest that mental health support for autistic people should include tackling identity distress through aiding the development of a stronger self-identity.
This could include giving autistic people a space to think about themselves from outside the gaze of the rest of the world.
This could be as foundational and simple as starting with establishing likes, dislikes, interests, and needs separately from a world which is often hostile to those differences.
The researchers hope to develop this work in a longer study looking at identity distress and poor mental health in adults over time. They also plan to get a better understanding to what extent masking and identity distress may be a reciprocal, self-feeding cycle.
