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

平均而言，自闭症个体比非自闭症个体早20年死亡，并且死亡的主要原因之一是自杀（Hirvikoski等人，2016）。自闭症个体也更容易患有抑郁症和焦虑症（Gillberg等人，2016）。到目前为止，大量的研究已经假设自闭症患者的心理健康状况不佳是不可避免的（Barnbaum，2008; Mikami等人，2009年）。相对较少的研究集中在社会压力（如歧视和耻辱）如何影响自闭症患者的心理健康，也没有保护因素（如社区连通性）。少数群体压力模型表明，边缘化群体因歧视、耻辱和边缘化而承受额外压力，导致健康差距（Meyer，2003年）。少数群体压力模型进一步表明，社区连通性（即，感觉自己是社区的一部分并与社区联系在一起）可能会给人们带来一种基于群体的弹性（Meyer，2015）。因此，本研究旨在调查我们是否可以使用少数民族压力模型（Meyer，2003）来了解自闭症人群的心理健康差异（博塔& Frost，2018）。一系列研究发现，自闭症患者和非自闭症患者之间的心理健康差异不能用一般的生活压力（每个人都面临的压力）来解释，也不能用其他人口统计数据（如性取向、社会经济地位、种族和性别）来解释。相反，遭受歧视和耻辱可以解释自闭症患者的大部分心理健康和幸福感，更多的歧视和耻辱经历预示着更低的幸福感和更高的心理痛苦。与自闭症社区的联系减轻了少数民族压力对心理健康的影响（一般而言）。当纵向测试时，少数民族压力的增加与心理健康状况显着恶化有关，而自闭症社区的连通性与心理健康和幸福感显着改善有关。这些发现表明，自闭症患者的心理健康状况不佳并非不可避免，而是复杂的社会过程的结果。这项工作是第一个提供理论和经验模型来解释自闭症心理健康的差异。此外，这是第一个研究耻辱和歧视的影响，或自闭症社区的连通性对自闭症患者的心理健康纵向。这个奖学金的目的是巩固我的博士学位和研究通过交付一个雄心勃勃的，但可实现的研究生涯肯定活动的计划，我准备我的学术生涯的下一个阶段。在奖学金的过程中，我的目标是发表这一系列关于心理健康和少数民族压力的研究，传播他们的研究结果，以最大限度地提高影响力和参与度（国内和国际），扩大我的研究网络，进一步发展R编程的具体技能，对自闭症和非人性化进行有限的进一步研究，并准备拨款申请，以继续这一重要的研究路线。奖学金的目标都是为了最大限度地发挥影响力和参与研究本身，但也旨在促进我的职业生涯的建立。例如，这项研究的出版和传播将增加我的研究概况的可见性，最大限度地发挥这项重要工作对自闭症，耻辱和心理健康的影响，而进一步的研究，网络增长，技能发展和赠款准备活动都旨在提高我的能力，成功的学术生涯。

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.