Mental Health and Treatment Experiences in Autistic Women
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mental Health and Treatment Experiences of Late Diagnosed Autistic Women within Adult Mental Health Services
IRAS ID
350933
Contact name
Laura Hughes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Glasgow
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Mental illness is more common in autistic population, than in the general population (Lai et al., 2019). Furthermore, many autistic people are not diagnosed until adulthood which can also contribute to mental health problems (Lai & Baron-Cohen, 2015; Lupindo et al., 2022). Autistic women are more commonly diagnosed later in life than males and also receive more psychiatric and behavioural diagnoses than males (Kavanaugh et al., 2023; Jadev & Bal, 2022). In such situations, undiagnosed autistic women may be diagnosed with mental health conditions, but their autism can be missed (Fusar-Poli et al., 2022). It is thought that the diagnoses autistic women are given before their autism diagnosis, may hide or overshadow their autism from professionals (Gupta & Gupta, 2023; Meera et al., 2012; Stagg & Belcher, 2019). Yet, without an autism diagnosis, the treatments offered are unlikely to be appropriately adapted to the person’s needs (Camm-Crosbie et al., 2019).
This research project aims to look at the impact of other diagnoses overshadowing autism in females, and the impact of any therapeutic or medical treatments which may have been given before women were diagnosed with autism. The researcher hopes to meet these aims by interviewing autistic women recently diagnosed by Ayrshire and Arran’s Adult Community Mental Health Teams and asking them about their experiences of any diagnoses and treatments they may have been given prior to their autism diagnosis, and how they make sense of them knowing that they are now autistic. The interviews will be completed by October 2025.
The researcher hopes that the findings of this study will help inform professionals working in mental health services, in their understanding of the possibility of mental health conditions overshadowing autism and help them consider the possibility of autism sooner.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0190
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion