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. 2024 Mar;54(3):1130-1142.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05867-7. Epub 2022 Dec 22.

Exploring Autistic College Students' Perceptions and Management of Peer Stigma: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Jill C Underhill  1 , Jaclyn Clark  2 , Rebecca S Hansen  2 , Hillary Adams  2
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Exploring Autistic College Students' Perceptions and Management of Peer Stigma: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Jill C Underhill et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Autistic college students are often forced to navigate stigma on campus, but little is known about how autistic college students manage communicated stigma. Semi-structured interviews with ten autistic college students were conducted to explore how they manage peer stigma. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to identify three themes from the data: First, participants seek to avoid peer stigma by concealing attributes associated with autism. Next, participants buffer against peer stigma by engaging in favorable social comparison. Finally, participants perceive the autism label as highly stigmatizing, necessitating limited disclosure on campus. These results can help researchers and practitioners focus efforts to promote neurodiversity to both autistic students and their peers on campus.

Keywords: Autism stigma; IPA; Peer perceptions.

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