The indirect effect of self-compassion in the association between autistic traits and anxiety/depression: A cross-sectional study in autistic and non-autistic adults

Galvin, John; Richards, Gareth

doi:10.1177/13623613221132109

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Our sample had a descriptively higher level of CAT-Q-Ch (101 ± 22.6, average score 4.39) than both autistic and non-autistic (88.3 ± 23.8 and 77.2 ± 21.1, respectively) and male and female adolescents (81.1 ± 23.6 and 85.6 ± 21.8, respectively) in our previous study (Liu et al, 2023). It was also descriptively higher than the survey conducted in non-autistic adults in the U.K. (Hull et al, 2019), which showed an average score of 3.48 in the original 25-item version of CAT-Q.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

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The association between self-rated autistic traits, social camouflaging, and mental health outcome in Taiwanese anime, game and comic (ACG) doujin creators: An exploratory study

Kuo,

Ni,

Liu

2023

Preprint

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Background Doujin (どうじん) is a Japanese term referred to a circle where people share the same interests, usually something that belongs to Anime, Comics, and Games (ACG) subculture. Individuals who belong to it and create related works, known as ACG doujin creators, are usually described as being socially awkward and are under potential risk of isolation. In such a context, they may theoretically exhibit heightened levels of autistic traits, manifest camouflaging tendencies and consequently have effects on their mental health. Nonetheless, the impact of autistic trait and camouflaging on mental health in this subculture remains significantly underexplored. Methods We recruited 183 Taiwanese ACG doujin creators (age ranges from 18 to 41, 146 female and 37 male) via social networking platforms. Participants completed Chinese online surveys assessing socio-demographic information, doujin activities, past psychiatric history, the 35-item Version of Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-35), Chinese version Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q-Ch), the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Linear regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between the aforementioned scales. Results Our findings revealed that among ACG doujin creators, there were no significant sex differences in any of the scales examined. Moreover, we observed a positive association between camouflaging behavior and most AQ-35 subscales after controlling of age and sex, with the exception of the mindreading subscale. Additionally, we identified that camouflaging and autistic traits, rather than sex, were significantly linked to higher scores of PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Conclusions Through this study, we gained insight into the distinctive characteristics of autistic traits, camouflaging behaviours, and mental health among Taiwanese ACG doujin creators, as the findings are divergent compared to previous research. This topic may hold significant promise for further investigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

“…The CAT-Q had three subscales, including compensation, masking, and assimilation subscales. The Chinese version of CAT-Q (CAT-Q-Ch) was recently validated in Taiwanese adolescents with high reliability [31]. In our study sample, CAT-Q-Ch showed high internal reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.898.…”

Section: Measurementmentioning

confidence: 72%

The association between self-rated autistic traits, social camouflaging, and mental health outcome in Taiwanese anime, game and comic (ACG) doujin creators: An exploratory study

Kuo,

Ni,

Liu

2023

Preprint

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“…Four cross-sectional studies - with samples of up to 164 adults ( Galvin et al, 2021 ; Howes et al, 2021 ; Cai et al, 2022 ; Galvin and Richards, 2022 ), and using self-report measures (including the Self-Compassion Scale; Neff, 2003 ) – and one qualitative interview study ( n = 11; Wilson et al, 2022 ), have examined levels of self-compassion in adults with a formal autism diagnosis, self-identified autism and/or non-autistic adults, and associations between self-compassion, autistic traits and mental health. Together, quantitative findings suggest that autistic people, and people with autistic traits, report lower self-compassion than comparison non-autistic samples.…”

Section: Autism Compassion and Cftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Mason,

Acland,

Stark

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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Some autistic adults experience repeated adverse events, including rejection, victimization and stigmatization. They also describe others being critical and negatively judging them, such as for how they socially interact or for expressing passion for particular interests. The impact of these adverse events can be substantial, including increasing vulnerability for poorer mental health, and contributing to development of negative self beliefs (such as “I am different” or “I do not fit in”) and shame-based difficulties. Not all evidence-based psychological therapies are well-received by autistic people, or effective. Given high rates of self-harm and suicidality, finding acceptable and effective therapies for autistic adults is paramount. Here, writing as autistic and non-autistic clinicians and researchers, we outline the theoretical principles of compassion-focused theory and therapy (CFT). We propose that: (1) compassion-focused theory can provide a useful framework for conceptualizing shame-based difficulties some autistic adults experience; (2) CFT can be appropriate for addressing these; and (3) there is an impetus for practitioners to adopt compassion-focused approaches when supporting autistic adults.

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“…Recently, two online studies found that autistic participants reported significantly lower self-compassion levels than non-autistic adults. Interestingly, in both groups, those with higher levels of self-compassion had fewer depression symptoms ( 37 , 38 ). Moreover, autistic traits and self-compassion in both autistic and non-autistic individuals have been found to be negatively correlated ( 38 ), suggesting that low levels of self-compassion are related to the cognitive style found in autism (e.g., social difficulties and cognitive inflexibility).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, in both groups, those with higher levels of self-compassion had fewer depression symptoms ( 37 , 38 ). Moreover, autistic traits and self-compassion in both autistic and non-autistic individuals have been found to be negatively correlated ( 38 ), suggesting that low levels of self-compassion are related to the cognitive style found in autism (e.g., social difficulties and cognitive inflexibility). Relatedly, Cai and Brown’s ( 39 ) review paper suggested that self-compassion may improve mental health in autistic adults through the modification of emotions (as an emotion regulation strategy).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion focused therapy for self-stigma and shame in autism: a single case pre-experimental study

Riebel,

Krasny-Pacini,

Manolov

et al. 2024

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionExposure to public stigma can lead to the internalization of autism-related stigma (i.e., self-stigma), associated with negative health, occupational and social outcomes. Importantly, self-stigma is linked to shame and social isolation. Although elevated self-stigma has been reported in autistic adults, to the best of our knowledge, interventions designed to target this issue are lacking. Compassion is an effective way to reduce the emotional correlates of self-stigma (i.e., shame) and their impacts on mental health. However, no study has investigated whether compassion focused therapy (CFT) can effectively reduce self-stigma in autistic adults. The present study aims at investigating whether and how self-compassion improvement following CFT may reduce self-stigma and shame in an autistic individual.MethodsA single case pre-experimental design (SCED) was used with weekly repeated measures during four phases: (i) pure baseline without any intervention (A), (ii) case conceptualization (A’), (iii) intervention (B) where CFT was delivered, (iv) follow-up without intervention (FU). The participant is a 46-year-old autistic man with high self-stigma and shame. Self-report measures of self-compassion and self-stigma and a daily idiographic measure of shame were used.ResultsThere was a large increase in self-compassion between pure baseline (A) and the intervention phase (A’B) (Tau-U = 0.99), maintained at follow-up. Similarly, there was a moderate decrease of self-stigma (Tau-U = 0.32). In contrast, when we compared the whole baseline phase AA’ (i.e., considering the conceptualisation phase as baseline) to the intervention (B), there was no change in self-stigma (Tau-U = −0.09). There was no change in self-stigma between the intervention (B) and follow-up (Tau-U = −0.19). There was a moderate decrease in daily shame reports between the baseline (AA’) and the intervention (B) (Tau-U = 0.31) and a moderate decrease between the pure baseline (A) and intervention phase (A’B) (Tau-U = 0.51).ConclusionCFT was feasible for this autistic client and our results show that CFT led to the improvement of self-compassion. Changes on self-stigma measures were moderate. Self-stigma may need more time to change. Because self-stigma is involved in poorer social functioning and mental health in autistic adults, our results are promising and suggesting conducting more large-scale studies on CFT in autistic adults.

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The indirect effect of self-compassion in the association between autistic traits and anxiety/depression: A cross-sectional study in autistic and non-autistic adults

Cited by 9 publications

References 67 publications

The association between self-rated autistic traits, social camouflaging, and mental health outcome in Taiwanese anime, game and comic (ACG) doujin creators: An exploratory study

The association between self-rated autistic traits, social camouflaging, and mental health outcome in Taiwanese anime, game and comic (ACG) doujin creators: An exploratory study

Compassion-focused therapy with autistic adults

Compassion focused therapy for self-stigma and shame in autism: a single case pre-experimental study

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