Autistic Women's Experiences of Self Compassion and Receiving Their Diagnosis in Adulthood

University of Sheffield

Status: Completed

Conditions: Autism

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04302753

164845

Details and patient eligibility

About

Research highlights strong links between self-compassion and mental health, but there is very limited research specifically exploring autistic individual's experiences of self-compassion. The process of receiving a diagnosis on the autism spectrum can be complex and autistic women tend to experience several barriers to diagnosis. This study adds to the growing area of research exploring autistic women's experiences of receiving a diagnosis in adulthood. This study employs Interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore if receiving a diagnosis of Autism influences women's perceptions of self-compassion. The findings may inform client-centred practices in health care settings and potentially present positive aspects of autism diagnosis.

Enrollment: 12 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 99 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Able to consent to participate
• Cisgender female (female at birth and raised as female).
• Speak English fluently
• Received an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, aged 18 years old or above

Exclusion criteria

• Lack capacity to consent to participate in the study
• Unable to speak English fluently
• Have not received an Autism diagnosis
• Have received Autism diagnosis prior to their 18th birthday
• Have an intellectual disability
• Born male