CAMOUFLAGING IN BRAZILIAN AUTISTIC ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT CHILDREN AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF CAMOUFLAGING BEHAVIORS IN BRAZILIAN AND BRITISH PEERS

• Grant number: 24/06303-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Shephard
• Grantee: Tally Lichtensztejn Tafla
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/05964-1 - Effects of biological and environmental factors and psychosocial intervention on early neurodevelopmental pathways in vulnerable children, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/08236-0 - Neurodivergent Community Involvement in Research: Insights from Autism Research Practices in the UK, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

In order to try to adapt socially to their environment and be accepted among their peers, autistic people present compensatory behaviours, characterized as camouflaging. Research on camouflaging and compensation in autism is still scarce, especially in the Brazilian context. Increasing awareness of the use of compensatory strategies in autism can guide future diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines to improve diagnostic accuracy and support autistic people whose difficulties may not be immediately evident. The present research project proposes to: i) culturally adapt and verify psychometric properties of an instrument that assesses camouflaging behaviours, the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q); ii) explore camouflaging behaviours in Brazilian autistic adults; iii) explore the experience of autistic mothers and fathers and their camouflaging behaviours; and iv) cross-culturally analyse the experiences of Brazilian autistic people compared to British peers. As for the CAT-Q questionnaire, it is expected to find good levels of internal consistency and factorial structure of the Brazilian version to be translated and adapted. As for levels of camouflaging, it is expected to observe higher levels in the Brazilian population, even higher than those observed in other countries, due to the country's more sociable culture, especially in comparison to the United Kingdom. An increase in camouflaging behaviours is also expected in autistic people who have children, as their social demands are elevated.