Community connectedness as a buffer against the effects of minority stress on mental health in the autistic population.

On average, autistic individuals die twenty-years before non-autistic individuals and one of the leading causes of death is suicide (Hirvikoski et al., 2016). Autistic individuals are also more likely to have depression and anxiety (Gillberg et al., 2016). To date, a substantial amount of research has assumed that poor mental health is inevitable in autistic people (Barnbaum, 2008; Mikami et al., 2009). Relatively little research has focused on how social stress such as discrimination and stigma may be affecting mental health for autistic people, nor protective factors (such as community connectedness). The minority stress model suggests that marginalised groups experience additional stress from discrimination, stigma and marginalisation which leads to health disparities (Meyer, 2003). The minority stress model further suggests that community connectedness (i.e., feeling part of and connected to your community) may give people a form of group-based resilience (Meyer, 2015). As such, this research aimed to investigate whether we can use the minority stress model (Meyer, 2003) for understanding the mental health disparity in the autistic population (Botha & Frost, 2018).

A series of studies found that the disparity in mental health between autistic and non-autistic people cannot be explained by general life stress (the kind of stress everyone is exposed to), nor other demographics (such as sexuality, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender). Rather, exposure to discrimination and stigma explained most of the mental health and wellbeing of autistic people, whereby more experiences of discrimination and stigma predicted lower wellbeing and higher psychological distress. Being connected to the autistic community lessened the impact of minority stress on mental health (in general). When tested longitudinally, increased exposure to minority stress was associated with significantly worse mental health, while higher autistic community connectedness related to significantly better mental health and wellbeing. These findings indicate that poor mental health in autism is not inevitable, and that instead, it is the result of complicated social processes. This body of work was the first to provide a theoretical and empirical model explaining the disparity in autistic mental health. Furthermore, it was the first to study the effects of stigma and discrimination, or autistic community connectedness on the mental health of autistic people longitudinally.

The aim of this fellowship would be to consolidate my PhD and research through the delivery of an ambitious, but achievable programme of research-career affirming activities preparing me for the next stages of my academic career. Over the course of the fellowship I aim to publish this series of studies on mental health and minority stress, to disseminate their findings to maximise impact and engagement (nationally and internationally), expand my research network, further develop specific skills with R programming, carry out limited further research on autism and dehumanisation, and prepare grant applications to continue this important line of research. The objectives of the fellowship all gear towards maximising impact and engagement with the research itself, but also aim to facilitate the establishment of my career. For example, the publication and dissemination of this research will increase the visibility of my research profile, maximise the impact of this vital work on autism, stigma and mental health, while further research, network growth, skills developmental, and grant preparation activities all aim to increase my capacity for a successful academic career.