Understanding Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: Integrating Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors

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.