Brede, Janina Lisa;
(2024)
Towards Improving the Mental Health of Autistic Women: Gender/Sex Differences in Co-Occurring Conditions and Contributors to Restricted Eating Disorders of Autistic Women.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis explores the nature and underlying contributors to mental health problems in autistic women. Part 1 presents a systematic review and meta-analysis examining gender/sex differences in co-occurring neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions in autistic adults. It identified 33 studies reporting prevalence rates for various co-occurring conditions in autistic women and men. The female-to-male odds ratios and heterogeneity across studies were calculated for ‘any co-occurring psychiatric condition’ and 14 individual conditions. The meta-analyses revealed significant gender/sex differences in the prevalence rates of co-occurring conditions among autistic adults. These findings underscore the need for heightened clinical attention to co-occurring conditions in autistic individuals, particularly women, and have the potential to inform screening efforts and tailored treatments. Part 2 presents an empirical study focused on the role of interoceptive difficulty and alexithymia in restrictive eating disorders (REDs) among autistic women. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted to identify the best-fitting factor model to represent the constructs of interoceptive difficulty and alexithymia, as measured by the Interoceptive Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ; Fiene et al., 2018) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS; Bagby et al., 1994) across the sample. Identified factors were compared among (1) autistic women without REDs, (2) autistic women with REDs, (3) non-autistic women with REDs, and (4) women with REDs and high autistic traits. Interoceptive difficulty and certain facets of alexithymia were identified as potential risk factors for REDs in autistic women, which could inform the formulation and more tailored treatment for REDs in this population. Part 3 presents a critical appraisal of the research process and reflections on broader issues relevant to this thesis. I reflected on the research skills I developed and the insights I gained related to working with existing datasets, conceptualising abstract constructs, and conducting participatory research.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Towards Improving the Mental Health of Autistic Women: Gender/Sex Differences in Co-Occurring Conditions and Contributors to Restricted Eating Disorders of Autistic Women |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197512 |
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