Review Protocol - Autistic identity: A systematic review of quantitative research
Year: 2023
Type: preprint
Study design: Study Protocol
Abstract: According to social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the beliefs we have about ourselves are based both on our personal identity (the individual characteristics that define who we are, e.g., personality, beliefs, values) and our social identity (our perceived membership to specific groups, e.g., religion, nationality, sexual orientation). Autism can be defined as both a personal and a social identity. For example, some autistic people may perceive being autistic as a core facet of who they are as a person, and something that cannot be distanced from themselves (personal identity) (e.g., Kenny et al., 2016). Similarly, autistic people may have a sense of affiliation with other autistic people, identifying as part of the Autistic community (social identity) (e.g., Cooper et al., 2022). Promisingly, evidence suggests having an autism identity (personal and/or social) can have positive effects on one’s mental health. For example, autism personal identity is positively associated with psychological wellbeing (Corden et al., 2021). Similarly, Cooper and colleagues (2017) found that positive autism social identity was associated with improvements in collective self-esteem (i.e., positive perceptions of group membership), resulting in improvements to personal self-esteem (i.e., positive perceptions of self-worth) and ultimately, reductions in traits of anxiety and depression. These findings are particularly salient as autistic people are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, than non-autistic people (Lai et al., 2019). As such, improving autistic people’s Autistic identity may be a pertinent target for subsequent improvements in mental health. To date, however, the topic of Autistic identity has not been systematically reviewed in the literature. To make meaningful recommendations regarding future support aiming to bolster Autistic identity development, it will be essential to establish: 1. What factors, if any, are associated with Autistic identity? 2. What is the nature of the association between Autistic identity and mental health and/or wellbeing? Please see attached our review protocol.
Source: OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Authors: Jade Davies, Estelle Killick, Benjamin Redmayne, Laura Crane, Kate Cooper, William Mandy, Evelyn Sam
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7112899912