• Author
    Wilson Yeh
  • Discovery PI

    Dr. Emily Hotez & Dr. Alice Kuo

  • Project Co-Author

  • Abstract Title

    A Qualitative Exploration of Camouflaging in Autistic Female Adolescents

  • Discovery AOC Petal or Dual Degree Program

    Social Science & Medical Humanities

  • Abstract

    Background: Camouflaging has emerged as a central construct for explaining diagnostic disparities and adverse mental health outcomes among autistic females. Defined as the modification of behavior to conceal autistic traits in neurotypical environments, camouflaging has been predominantly framed through a deficit lens in existing literature; this perspective leaves its potential non-deficit effects unexplored. This approach risks pathologizing adaptive behavior and overlooking the ways camouflaging may function as a natural, even fulfilling, social strategy that supports adolescent wellbeing.

    Objective: This qualitative study explores camouflaging in autistic female-identifying adolescents (ages 9–17) through a holistic, non-deficit lens, examining how developmental, motivational, relational, and contextual factors shape whether and how adolescents engage in camouflaging, and how those processes relate to identity formation and wellbeing.

    Methods: Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews are being conducted via Zoom with autistic female-identifying adolescents and their caregivers. The adolescent and caregiver interview protocols derive from the novel conceptual framework integrating multiple established social theories. The framework distinguishes compelled from volitional camouflaging along an autonomy continuum and models both degenerative and adaptive feedback pathways within an intersectional frame. Data will be analyzed thematically with attention to the compelled-versus-volitional axis, identity integration, and contextual variability.

    Results: The study is currently in the recruitment and interview phase. We hypothesize that the interviews will reveal camouflaging as a multifaceted process rather than a strictly deficit-oriented one. We hope this work will open further exploration of camouflaging through a more nuanced perspective, with the ultimate goal of fostering a society that supports autistic female adolescents as they experiment with and develop their own forms of social expression.

Back