ArticleAutism in adulthood2026
Taking Off the Mask: Investigating Autism Diagnosis and Camouflaging in Adult Women.
Article in Autism in adulthood, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The relationship between autistic camouflaging and mental health: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Camouflaging and autism: Conceptualisation and methodological issues.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Review
- Lived Experience, Family, and Clinician Perspectives on Barriers to Adult Autism Diagnosis and Post-Diagnostic Supports: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.Journal of developmental and physical disabilities · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Awareness and recognition of autism have grown significantly in recent years. Despite this progress, research on the diagnosis and camouflaging behaviors in adult autistic women remains limited. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the characteristics of autism in adult women, with a particular focus on understanding the role of camouflaging in the challenges these women face in obtaining a formal diagnosis. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study involving 253 autistic participants, we administered a comprehensive battery of psychological assessment instruments to collect data on autistic traits, camouflage behaviors, stress, anxiety, depression, and diagnosis/suspicion-related factors. Results: Our findings revealed that the traits and characteristics of autism did not significantly differ between women and men or non-binary individuals. However, there were significant delays in the formal identification of autism in women, who had a lower rate of early autism diagnosis compared with other genders. In contrast, women often received prior diagnoses of other psychological conditions before their autism was identified. While camouflage behaviors were significantly more common among women than men, these patterns did not directly explain the delay in suspicion and diagnosis in this population. Although camouflaging predicted higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression, especially in women, there were no consistent associations between masking measures and early autism identification. Conclusions: These findings suggest that while camouflaging behavior may exacerbate psychological distress and make autism more invisible for women, it is not the primary factor contributing to the delayed identification. Instead, gender stereotypes and the inadequacy of clinical assessment tools tailored to more typically feminine presentations of autism are likely major obstacles in the diagnostic process. Community Brief:
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.