Gender differences in self-reported camouflaging in autistic and non-autistic adults.
Social camouflaging describes the use of strategies to compensate for and mask autistic characteristics during social interactions. A newly developed self-reported measure of camouflaging (Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire) was used in an online survey to measure gender differences in autistic (n = 306) and non-autistic adults (n = 472) without intellectual disability for the first time. Controlling for age and autistic-like traits, an interaction between gender and diagnostic status was found: autistic females demonstrated higher total camouflaging scores than autistic males (partial η2 = 0.08), but there was no camouflaging gender difference for non-autistic people. Autistic females scored higher than males on two of three Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire subscales: Masking (partial η2 = 0.05) and Assimilation (partial η2 = 0.06), but not on the Compensation subscale. No differences were found between non-autistic males and females on any subscale. No differences were found between non-binary individuals and other genders in either autistic or non-autistic groups, although samples were underpowered. These findings support previous observations of greater camouflaging in autistic females than males and demonstrate for the first time no self-reported gender difference in non-autistic adults.
['Hull|Laura|L|0000-0002-8289-2158', 'Lai|Meng-Chuan|MC|', 'Baron-Cohen|Simon|S|', 'Allison|Carrie|C|', 'Smith|Paula|P|', 'Petrides|K V|KV|', 'Mandy|William|W|0000-0002-3564-5808']
D000328:Adult D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007398:Interpersonal Relations D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D057566:Self Report D012737:Sex Factors D012919:Social Behavior D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
gender differences camouflaging adult compensation masking females autism