We investigated Autism social identity and mental health in autistic people. Autistic people have social and communication deficits, and experience social stigma—factors that could interfere with the development of positive social identity. Indeed, autistic participants (N = 272) had significantly lower personal self‐esteem, and higher levels of depression and anxiety than typically developing controls (N = 267). Autism social identification was positively associated with personal self‐esteem, and this relationship was mediated by collective self‐esteem (perceived positivity of Autism identity). Furthermore, there were significant negative indirect effects between Autism identification and anxiety, and between Autism identification and depression, through increases in collective self‐esteem and personal self‐esteem. Thus, while autistic participants reported poorer mental health than average, having a positive Autism social identity appeared to offer a protective mechanism. This implies that to improve mental health in the Autism population, clinical approaches should aim to facilitate development of positive Autism identities.

Obsessions and compulsions are both common in adults with high-functioning ASD and are associated with significant levels of distress.

Background: High rates of anxiety disorders, particularly Obsessive

There is some consensus in the literature regarding the cognitive profile of people with Asperger syndrome (AS). Findings to date suggest that a proportion of people with AS have higher verbal than performance IQ, a non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) and impairments in some aspects of executive function (EF). However, there are few published studies on adults with AS and many have compared the AS group to an autistic control group alone. We compared cognitive functioning in 27 AS adults without a history of language delay and 20 normal controls who did not differ significantly in age, gender and IQ. People with AS had significant impairments on a test of visual memory and on EF tasks measuring flexibility and generativity, but not inhibition. There was no significant difference between verbal and performance IQ. Our results suggest that impairments on tests requiring flexibility of thought and generation occur at all ages and across a range of autistic disorders including AS.

Growing awareness of autism spectrum disorders has increased the demand for diagnostic services in adulthood. High rates of mental health problems have been reported in young people and adults with autism spectrum disorder. However, sampling and methodological issues mean prevalence estimates and conclusions about specificity in psychiatric co-morbidity in autism spectrum disorder remain unclear. A retrospective case review of 859 adults referred for assessment of autism spectrum disorder compares International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision diagnoses in those that met criteria for autism spectrum disorder (n = 474) with those that did not (n = 385). Rates of psychiatric diagnosis (>57%) were equivalent across both groups and exceeded general population rates for a number of conditions. The prevalence of anxiety disorders, particularly obsessive compulsive disorder, was significantly higher in adults with autism spectrum disorder than adults without autism spectrum disorder. Limitations of this observational clinic study, which may impact generalisability of the findings, include the lack of standardised structured psychiatric diagnostic assessments by assessors blind to autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and inter-rater reliability. The implications of this study highlight the need for careful consideration of mental health needs in all adults referred for autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.

University provides individuals with the opportunity to develop greater independence in living skills and social networks, while also gaining valuable qualifications. Despite a high proportion of autistic individuals aspiring to attend university, many either do not seek or gain entry or drop out prematurely. Although some steps have been taken to develop effective support, a recent review highlighted the scarcity of research into programmes designed to support autistic students transitioning to university. In addition, few studies have examined the views of autistic students themselves. This study investigated the perspectives of autistic students transitioning to university. Three focus groups were conducted with 25 autistic students preparing to start university. Participants were asked about their hopes for starting university, as well as their worries and concerns. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, from which five main themes were identified: The Social World, Academic Demands, Practicalities of University Living, Leaving the Scaffolding of Home and Transition to Adulthood. The results provide an important account of the challenges autistic students face when transitioning to university, as well as their aspirations. These findings have a number of practical implications.

This study highlights a need for training and ongoing supervision to increase therapist confidence in and ability to make appropriate adaptations to CBT treatment protocols for autistic people.

High rates of gender variance have been reported in autistic people, with higher variance in autistic females than males. The social component of gender identity may be affected, with autistic females experiencing lower identification with and feeling less positively about their gender groups than controls. We measured gender identification, gender self-esteem, and aspects of gender expression (masculinity and femininity) in autistic natal males and females, and controls (N = 486). We found that autistic people had lower gender identification and gender self-esteem than controls, and autistic natal females had lower gender identification than autistic natal males and natal female controls. In conclusion, autistic people, particularly natal females, had lower social identification with and more negative feelings about a gender group.