Camouflaging behaviours in autistic and non-autistic adolescents, aged 13-19, in the modern context of social media

The thesis examines camouflaging behaviours in autistic and non-autistic adolescents, both offline and in the context of social media.

The systematic literature review explored the associated mental health and wellbeing outcomes of social media use in children and young people, aged below 20 years.

Findings indicate that time spent on Facebook is marginally related to a reduction in wellbeing and passive use of social media is marginally associated with various adverse wellbeing outcomes.

Overall, studies reviewed were considered of low methodological quality.

The empirical study investigated the concept of camouflaging as a proposed key feature of the female phenotype of autism.

In phase one of the study (N=202) an online questionnaire was employed, which incorporated the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q), an adapted version – Camouflaging Autistic Traits Online Questionnaire (CATO-Q), and a range of social media measures.

Autistic participants self-reported significantly more camouflaging behaviours offline than their non-autistic peers.

Female participants self-reported significantly more camouflaging behaviours online than their male peers.

Autistic participants reported significantly fewer camouflaging behaviours online than they did offline.

In phase two, six participants were invited to take part in individual semi-structured interviews.

Thematic analysis resulted in the creation of four themes:

• 'The Supportive Role of Friends'
• 'Influence of Social Norms'
• 'Masking'
• 'Freedom on Social Media'

It is proposed that autistic adolescents are uniquely positioned to reap the benefits of social media, as supported by both phases of the study.

Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, alongside implications for future research and the practice of Educational Psychologists.