Understanding Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: Integrating Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors.
Camouflaging in autistic adults is driven more by feeling like a social misfit and executive problems than by IQ or outside acceptance.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rebours et al. (2026) asked 120 autistic adults to fill out online surveys. The team wanted to know what makes someone hide or "camouflage" their autism traits.
They measured executive problems, how much each person feels they do not fit in, and how much they accept their own autism. Then they ran a model to see which items best predict camouflaging scores.
What they found
Feeling like a social misfit, having executive dysfunction, and low personal autism acceptance together explained about 27% of why adults camouflage.
IQ and how accepting other people were did not matter much. In short, internal factors beat external ones.
How this fits with other research
Jorgenson et al. (2020) showed camouflaging starts in adolescence and differs by sex. Capucine moves the lens to adults and adds brain-based skills like planning.
Milner et al. (2024) found heavy camouflaging links to late autism diagnosis, especially in women. Capucine digs into why people start camouflaging in the first place.
Hutchins et al. (2020) warned that camouflaging brings distress and suicidal thoughts. Capucine agrees and names executive problems and poor self-acceptance as key drivers.
Shyu et al. (2026) showed feeling socially incompetent lowers quality of life in autistic teens. Capucine finds a similar "I don't fit in" feeling pushes adults to mask.
Why it matters
If you work with autistic adults, watch for signs of camouflaging. Ask how hard they find daily planning and how much they accept their autism. Targeting executive skills and self-acceptance may reduce the need to mask and protect mental health.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add two quick questions to your intake: 'How often do you feel you must hide your autism to fit in?' and 'How hard is it to plan daily tasks?' Use answers to flag clients who may need self-acceptance or executive-function support.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Camouflaging refers to strategies used by autistic individuals to mask traits and adapt to neurotypical norms. Beyond socio-cognitive abilities, recent work suggests that camouflaging is also shaped by psychosocial factors. This study tested an integrative, prediction-oriented model of camouflaging. We hypothesized that higher levels of camouflaging would be associated with socio-cognitive functioning, perceived social misfit, mental health, and lower autism acceptance, and that an integrative model combining these factors would predict individual differences in camouflaging. Participants were 120 autistic adults (M = 37.4 years, SD = 10.4), mostly officially diagnosed and predominantly assigned female at birth. Self-report measures assessed camouflaging, executive functioning, perceived social-cognition differences, autism acceptance, social support, and mental health. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to estimate the contribution of each predictor to camouflaging. The final model explained a moderate proportion of variance in camouflaging (R² = 0.27; standardized root mean squared residual = 0.05). Executive dysfunction, perceived social-cognition differences, and personal acceptance showed positive associations with camouflaging, whereas intellectual functioning, perceived acceptance, and social support did not contribute meaningfully. Camouflaging reflects a dynamic interplay between perceived social misfit, executive demands, and identity-related processes rather than a fixed cognitive ability, highlighting the importance of affirming social environments.Lay AbstractCamouflaging refers to the strategies autistic people use to hide their autistic personality in order to fit into social expectations. While camouflaging can sometimes help in social situations, it often comes with serious costs, including stress, anxiety, depression, and autistic burnout. Many autistic adults report feeling pressure to camouflage because of stigma and how society views autism. Understanding what drives camouflaging is important to reduce its harmful effects and to better support autistic people. This study explored which factors are most strongly linked to camouflaging in autistic adults. Instead of looking only at thinking skills such as intelligence, we included measures of executive functioning (everyday planning), social experiences, autism acceptance, and mental health. A total of 120 autistic adults completed online questionnaires. We used statistical models to test which factors predicted camouflaging. We found that camouflaging was most strongly linked to three factors: difficulties with executive functioning, feeling like a misfit in social situations, and how much participants personally accepted their autistic identity. Intelligence, general social support, and feeling accepted by others as autistic played little role. These findings show that camouflaging is not simply about cognitive skills, but also about self-perception and social pressure. Creating more accepting environments and supporting autistic identity may reduce the need to camouflage and protect mental health.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2026 · doi:10.1177/13623613261433985