Date Approved

7-1-2025

Embargo Period

7-1-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Clinical Psychology

Department

Clinical Psychology

College

College of Science & Mathematics

Advisor

Katherine Gotham, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Tenelle Porter, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Dustin Fife, Ph.D.

Keywords

autism;identity;mental health;quality of life

Disciplines

Clinical Psychology | Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

The autistic community has long voiced the mental health of autistic adults as a key clinical and research priority. Autistic identity, or the recognition and embrace of core autistic traits as integral to an individual's identity as a whole, may be a potential target for therapeutic approaches aimed at supporting well-being and quality of life. The current study investigates individual differences in self-reported autistic identity scores by demographic factors and by features of autism and health history using online survey data from N=225 autistic adults. Additionally, with a subset of the participants who completed an interconnected study of current mental health symptomatology (n=47), we explore how autistic identity may influence the association between autistic traits and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and quality of life, as well as the association between camouflaging of autistic traits and these same markers of mental health and well-being. Dimensions of autistic identity varied across gender, trait level, and diagnostic factors, and certain identity dimensions independently predicted mental health and well-being. However, limited evidence emerged for autistic identity moderating the associations between autistic traits or camouflaging and mental health markers. Findings further our understanding of individual variability in autistic identity and its relation to mental health and quality of life.

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