Self-identity insecurity in autistic masking
Individuals with autism often report having difficulties with their sense of self, using terms such as identity crisis and imposter syndrome in relation to their autism diagnosis. To build an understanding of challenged self-identity and the role of masking experienced by those with autism we conducted two thematic analyses, one using data scraped from the social media platform Reddit and the other gathered through traditional interviews. These data sets were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis both manually and using computer-aided analysis to enable us to analyse the large-scale data from Reddit and determine the validity of gathering qualitative data at scale. Results gave insight into how insecure identity, imposter syndrome, and identity crisis are experienced and the role that the social environment, masking, and diagnosis play in creating this sense of challenged self-identity. The negative impact that this challenged identity has on mental health and social relations. Results also demonstrated how an insecure self-identity can progress into a secure self-identity giving promising future research directions and opportunities to support those who are recently diagnosed or struggling with their autistic self-identity. This paper also highlights the benefits of large-scale thematic analysis and the best methods of integrating this type of analysis in a qualitative piece of work.
Autism, Masking, Identity crisis, Imposter syndrome, Comptuer aided thematic analysis, Challenged self-identity
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