Examining an integrated path model of psychological and sociocultural predictors of camouflaging in autistic adults.

Many autistic people use strategies known as 'camouflaging' to change how noticeable their autistic traits are in social situations. Previous research suggests that camouflaging is largely motivated by psychological and social factors. However, most studies so far have only looked at a few psychosocial factors related to camouflaging.

Neurocognitive and self-reported psychosocial and behavioral functioning in siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: a study using remote self-administered testing.

Objective: This study compared and explored the neurocognitive profiles of siblings of persons with and without neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and associations between objective test performance and self-reported psychosocial functioning.

Methods: Siblings of persons with and without NDCs (64 NDC and 64 control siblings; mean age 19.88 years, range 11-27 years, 73.

Psychosocial factors associated with camouflaging in autistic people and its relationship with mental health and well-being: A mixed methods systematic review.

Camouflaging involves hiding one's autistic characteristics in social situations. This mixed methods systematic review synthesized research on psychosocial factors associated with camouflaging and its relationship with mental well-being. Six databases were searched.

Exploring autistic adults' psychosocial experiences affecting beginnings, continuity and change in camouflaging over time: A qualitative study in Singapore.

Over their lifetimes, many autistic people learn to camouflage (hide or mask) their autism-related differences to forge relationships, find work and live independently in largely non-autistic societies. Autistic adults have described camouflaging as a 'lifetime of conditioning . .

Individual-Level Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with Mental Health in Siblings of Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Conditions: A Network Analysis.

Siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) are exposed to unique family environments and experience a range of psychosocial risk and resilience factors. Networks of self-reported risk, resilience, and neuropsychiatric variables were estimated for siblings of individuals with ( = 235) and without ( = 480) NDCs ( = 715, mean age 22.40 years, 76% female, 74% White Caucasian).

"I'm the Family Ringmaster and Juggler": Autistic Parents' Experiences of Parenting During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Little is known about autistic parenthood. The literature that exists suggests that autistic parents can find it difficult to manage the everyday demands of parenting and domestic life. While emerging research has also highlighted more positive parenting experiences, greater understanding of autistic parenthood is needed.

Autistic and non-autistic young people's and caregivers' perspectives on COVID-19-related schooling changes and their impact on emotional well-being: An opportunity for change?

Autistic young people experience poorer mental health and well-being compared to their non-autistic peers. Navigating the complex social, academic, procedural and sensory aspects of school may be particularly challenging for autistic young people and contribute to poorer mental well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented school changes and provided a unique opportunity to gather caregiver's and young people's perspectives on the impact of school and pandemic-related school changes on the well-being of both autistic and non-autistic young people.

"It just fits my needs better": Autistic students and parents' experiences of learning from home during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background And Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to people's lives, especially for families, whose children have been taken out of schools during lockdown restrictions and required to learn from home. Little is known, however, about the perceived impact of the lockdown restrictions on the educational experiences of autistic children and young people - a group whose conventional schooling experiences are already often challenging. In this study, we sought to (1) understand these experiences from the perspectives of autistic young people and their parents, and (2) identify the underlying sources of positive experiences at this challenging time, in order to inform the ways in which autistic children might flourish at school in more normal times.

Risk and resilience factors impacting the mental health and wellbeing of siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions: A mixed methods systematic review.

Objective: This pre-registered systematic review synthesised and evaluated the existing literature on self-reported mental health and wellbeing of siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs).

Methods: From 2437 identified studies published 2000-2022, 81 studies were included: 14 population- or cohort-based, 39 quantitative, 7 mixed method, and 21 qualitative outcome studies.

Results: Seven sibling mental health (any psychiatric disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, internalising and externalising difficulties) and five wellbeing indicators were identified (quality of life, emotional adjustment, social wellbeing, somatic/physical wellbeing, and resilience/growth).

Psychosocial Interventions and Support Groups for Siblings of Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Conditions: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review of Sibling Self-reported Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes.

Siblings of persons with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) have increased risk of poorer psychosocial functioning. This systematic review evaluated quantitative and qualitative evidence on sibling mental health and wellbeing outcomes following psychosocial interventions and the risk and protective factors associated with post-intervention outcomes. From 2025 identified studies published from 1991 to 2022 across ten databases, 24 studies were included.

Continuity and change in loneliness and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of autistic and non-autistic adults.

Previous studies have suggested that autistic adults may be negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions. In this study, we examined continuity and change in loneliness and stress, and their predictors, in 448 autistic and 70 non-autistic adults living in the Netherlands. Autistic participants were assessed on three occasions using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and Perceived Stress Scale (pre-lockdown (T0), first lockdown (T1), and second lockdown (T2)); non-autistic participants were assessed twice (T1 and T2).

Learning from the experts: Evaluating a participatory autism and universal design training for university educators.

Autistic university students have many strengths. They also go through difficulties that professors may not understand. Professors may not understand what college life is like for autistic students.

Understanding the heterogeneity of anxiety in autistic youth: A person-centered approach.

The present study aimed to examine anxiety profiles among children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. It further aimed to characterize the association between the identified anxiety profiles and key clinical and developmental variables. The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale-Parent Version (SCAS-P) data from a large international pooled sample of 870 caregivers of autistic children and adolescents (M  = 11.

Are There Bidirectional Influences Between Screen Time Exposure and Social Behavioral Traits in Young Children?

Objective: Screen time in early childhood has been associated with children's prosocial and behavioral skills; however, the directionality of this relationship is unclear. We aimed to determine the direction of the relationship between screen time, social skills, and nonsocial behavioral traits in young children.

Methods: This was a population-based, prospective cohort study with data across 5 time points.

COVID-19, social isolation and the mental health of autistic people and their families: A qualitative study.

In this study, we show that autistic people and their families have found it very difficult to deal with the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Autistic and non-autistic researchers spoke to 144 people, including 44 autistic adults, 84 parents of autistic children and 16 autistic young people (12-18 years old). We asked them about their everyday lives and mental health during lockdown.

Clarifying Self-Report Measures of Social Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to Improve Reporting for Autistic Adults.

Background: Phenotypic similarities exist between autism-related experiences and anxiety (especially social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]), making it difficult for autistic people to self-report their experiences using existing measures developed for nonautistic adults. We examined whether clarifications aiming to tease out autism-related experiences from social anxiety or OCD in self-report questionnaires would influence autistic and nonautistic participants' ratings.

Methods: Two autistic consultants and two experienced clinicians were consulted to develop item clarifications aiming to disentangle autistic from anxiety experiences for two questionnaires: the Social Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Padua Inventory (PI) for OCD.

Intensive behavioural interventions based on applied behaviour analysis for young children with autism: An international collaborative individual participant data meta-analysis.

Early intensive applied behaviour analysis-based interventions are designed to support young autistic children's learning and development. Unfortunately, the available evidence about the effectiveness of these interventions remains unclear. Several reviews have focused on the published findings rather than contacting the authors to collect and analyse data about the individual participants in the original studies.

Caregiver- and Child-Reported Anxiety Using an Autism-Specific Measure: Measurement Properties and Correlates of the Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASC-ASD) in Verbal Young People with ASD.

Identifying and measuring anxiety in young people on the autism spectrum can be challenging. The present study investigated the use of the Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASC-ASD), a self- and caregiver-rated screening tool in a Singaporean sample of ninety-one verbal autistic youths and their caregivers. Internal consistency ranged from satisfactory to desirable (α = .

Is cognitive inflexibility a missing link? The role of cognitive inflexibility, alexithymia and intolerance of uncertainty in externalising and internalising behaviours in young people with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Internalising (anxiety and low mood) and externalising (aggressive or outburst behaviours, and irritability) difficulties are very common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the life span, relatively stable over time and often associated with poorer quality of life. Understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying internalising and externalising difficulties in ASD is essential for developing targeted supports and interventions. In the present study, we investigated established and less-researched cognitive factors hypothesised to contribute to internalising and/or externalising difficulties in ASD, namely cognitive inflexibility (CI), intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and alexithymia.

Autistic traits in first-episode psychosis: Rates and association with 1-year recovery outcomes.

Aim: There is a growing appreciation that subthreshold but clinically elevated levels of autistic traits are clinically relevant. This study examined autistic traits in Singaporean patients with first-episode psychosis and their association with 1-year psychosis recovery.

Methods: The relationship between baseline patient characteristics, autistic traits (measured with autism screening questionnaires) and psychosis recovery outcomes at 1-year were examined in 180 adults in the Early Intervention Psychosis Programme in Singapore.

What Is Important in Measuring Quality of Life? Reflections by Autistic Adults in Four Countries.

Unlabelled: Relevant and valid measurement is crucial in determining whether interventions and supports have improved the quality of life (QoL) of autistic people. However, it is possible that researchers' and services' use of general population QoL tools may overlook issues of specific importance. To advance methodology, we conducted a preliminary exploration of the need and basis for cross-cultural development of additional autism-specific QoL questions.

Anxiety in young people with autism spectrum disorder: Common and autism-related anxiety experiences and their associations with individual characteristics.

Anxiety is common in autism spectrum disorder. Many anxiety symptoms in autism spectrum disorder are consistent with (5th ed.) anxiety disorders (termed "common" anxieties), but others may be qualitatively different, likely relating to autism spectrum disorder traits (herein termed "autism-related" anxieties).

Anxiety and Depression from Adolescence to Old Age in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined age trends in anxious and depressive symptoms, from older adolescence to old age, and explored the association between anxious and depressive symptoms with gender, ASD severity, and socio-economic factors. Two hundred and fifty-five individuals with ASD (151 males, M = 33.52 years, SD = 14.