Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04695-x

. 2021 Jul;51(7):2190-2199.

doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04695-x.

Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

María Tubío-Fungueiriño^#^{1

2

3}, Sara Cruz^#^{4

5}, Adriana Sampaio⁶, Angel Carracedo^{1

3

7

8}, Montse Fernández-Prieto^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Genomics and Bioinformatics Group, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Avda. de Barcelona, s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
² Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
³ Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica, Servicio Galego de Saúde (SERGAS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁴ Psychology for Positive Development Research Center, Universidade Lusíada - Norte, Porto, Portugal.
⁵ Instituto de Neurodesenvolvimento (IND), Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
⁷ Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, U-711, Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁸ Grupo de Genética, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁹ Genomics and Bioinformatics Group, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Avda. de Barcelona, s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.
¹⁰ Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, U-711, Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.
¹¹ Grupo de Genética, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 32926304
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04695-x

Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

María Tubío-Fungueiriño et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Jul.

. 2021 Jul;51(7):2190-2199.

doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04695-x.

Authors

María Tubío-Fungueiriño^#^{1

2

3}, Sara Cruz^#^{4

5}, Adriana Sampaio⁶, Angel Carracedo^{1

3

7

8}, Montse Fernández-Prieto^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Genomics and Bioinformatics Group, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Avda. de Barcelona, s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
² Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
³ Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica, Servicio Galego de Saúde (SERGAS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁴ Psychology for Positive Development Research Center, Universidade Lusíada - Norte, Porto, Portugal.
⁵ Instituto de Neurodesenvolvimento (IND), Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
⁷ Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, U-711, Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁸ Grupo de Genética, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁹ Genomics and Bioinformatics Group, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Avda. de Barcelona, s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.
¹⁰ Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, U-711, Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, (USC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.
¹¹ Grupo de Genética, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain. montse.fernandez.prieto@usc.es.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 32926304
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04695-x

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence, and a male-to-female ratio of 4:1. Research has been suggesting that discrepancy in prevalence may be due to the fact that females camouflage their symptoms. In this study, we aimed to systematically review evidence on the camouflage effect in females with ASD. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed empirical research published from January 2009 to September 2019 on PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo and Scopus databases. Thirteen empirical articles were included in this review. Overall, evidence supports that camouflaging seems to be an adaptive mechanism for females with ASD, despite the negative implications of these behaviours in their daily life.

Keywords: Autism; Camouflage; Females; Systematic review.

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A cross-sectional examination of service complexity in youths with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder and psychiatric or medical diagnoses across service sectors.
Semovski V, King C, Lapshina N, Stewart SL. Semovski V, et al. Front Psychol. 2023 Feb 1;13:1027373. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1027373. eCollection 2022. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 36817386 Free PMC article.
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References

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. - DOI
1. Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., et al. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(6), 1. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1 . - DOI - PMC
1. Baldwin, S., & Costley, D. (2016). The experiences and needs of female adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 20(4), 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315590805 . - DOI - PubMed
1. Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-hall.
1. Bargiela, S., Steward, R., & Mandy, W. (2016). The experiences of late-diagnosed women with autism spectrum conditions: An investigation of the female autism phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(10), 3281–3294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2872-8 . - DOI - PubMed - PMC

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[1] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. - DOI

[2] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. - DOI

[3] Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., et al. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(6), 1. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1 . - DOI - PMC

[4] Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., et al. (2018). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(6), 1. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1 . - DOI - PMC

[5] Baldwin, S., & Costley, D. (2016). The experiences and needs of female adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 20(4), 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315590805 . - DOI - PubMed

[6] Baldwin, S., & Costley, D. (2016). The experiences and needs of female adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 20(4), 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315590805 . - DOI - PubMed

[7] Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-hall.

[8] Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-hall.

[9] Bargiela, S., Steward, R., & Mandy, W. (2016). The experiences of late-diagnosed women with autism spectrum conditions: An investigation of the female autism phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(10), 3281–3294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2872-8 . - DOI - PubMed - PMC

[10] Bargiela, S., Steward, R., & Mandy, W. (2016). The experiences of late-diagnosed women with autism spectrum conditions: An investigation of the female autism phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(10), 3281–3294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2872-8 . - DOI - PubMed - PMC

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Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

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