Looking through rainbow-rimmed glasses: Taking neurodiversity perspective is related to subjective well-being of autistic adults

Abstract

Finding new ways of supporting the well-being of autistic adults is an essential goal for research and practice. We tested the predictive value of attitudes towards autism (as neurodiversity or as a disorder) and identification with other autistic people, on the psychological distress and self-esteem of autistic adults ( n = 109). Adopting a neurodiversity attitude not only predicted higher self-esteem but also served as a protective factor against the negative impact of identification with other autistic people on psychological distress. These findings show that clinicians should be sensitive to the way autistic people understand autism and the extent to which they identify with the autism community, as these factors relate to their well-being. Lay abstract Autistic adults experience a high level of distress. Finding new ways to support their well-being is an important goal for researchers and clinicians. We assessed the way autistic adults view their autism, as a disorder or as a type of mind (neurodiversity), and the level they integrate with other autistic people, and we checked how those factors contribute to their well-being. People who see autism rather as a type of mind than as a disorder had higher self-esteem. People who view themselves as more similar to other autistic people felt more stressed, but this result was not accurate for people who view autism as a type of mind. Clinicians should be sensitive to the way autistic people understand autism and to what extent they identify with the autism community, because it may relate to their well-being.

‘Living in a world that’s not about us’: The impact of everyday life on the health and wellbeing of autistic women and gender diverse people

“…Our findings also highlighted that autism provided ‘a framework to understand myself better’ and provided a lens through which to review past experiences and come to a level of self-acceptance. This fits with previous research showing a relationship between autistic identity and mental health, 4,81 –83 and the importance of diagnosis. 84 Our research also outlined the impact of positive interpersonal relationships with other autistic people and access to autistic community.…”

Autistic identity: A systematic review of quantitative research

“…Autism pride, perceived benefits of autism, dissatisfaction with being Autistic, and helplessness associated with being Autistic were all significant individual predictors of personal self‐esteem (Corden et al, 2021; Nguyen et al, 2020). Other studies also found that higher collective self‐esteem was associated with stronger Autistic social identification (Cooper et al, 2017, 2021) and that self‐definition (i.e., feeling the same as other Autistic people) was a significant individual predictor of global self‐esteem (Ferenc et al, 2023).…”

“… b Cooper et al (2017) and Ferenc et al (2023) only reported n (%) for female participants. As such, all other participants ( n = 170) are represented in the “other gender identities” category. …”

“…Two of the three studies that examined the association between aspects of Autistic identity and psychological distress found a significant association. Higher scores on measures of psychological distress were associated with feeling more like other Autistic people (Ferenc et al, 2023) and experiencing more internalized stigma (Botha & Frost, 2020). Both internalized stigma and feeling like other Autistic people were individual predictors of psychological distress (Botha & Frost, 2020; Ferenc et al, 2023).…”

“…Higher scores on measures of psychological distress were associated with feeling more like other Autistic people (Ferenc et al, 2023) and experiencing more internalized stigma (Botha & Frost, 2020). Both internalized stigma and feeling like other Autistic people were individual predictors of psychological distress (Botha & Frost, 2020; Ferenc et al, 2023). However, feeling like other Autistic people only predicted psychological distress in participants that adopted a medical model definition of autism.…”