Towards Identifying Autistic Adults at Risk for Eating Disorders: A Brief Report Into Clustering of Social Camouflaging and Sensory Processing Differences

TY - JOUR

T1 - Towards Identifying Autistic Adults at Risk for Eating Disorders

T2 - A Brief Report Into Clustering of Social Camouflaging and Sensory Processing Differences

AU - Nimbley, Emy

AU - Bradley, Siofra

AU - Pickard, Abigail

AU - Sader, Michelle

AU - Maloney, Ellen

AU - Moore, Fhionna

AU - Suratwala, Tasha

AU - Sharpe, Helen

AU - Duffy, Fiona

AU - Gillespie-Smith, Karri

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). European Eating Disorders Review published by Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2026/4/3

Y1 - 2026/4/3

N2 - Background: Autistic people with an eating disorder (ED) are at higher risk of poorer treatment outcomes and experiences, perhaps due to a lack of understanding surrounding underlying mechanisms. Several factors have been implicated, such as sensory processing and social camouflaging; however, there has been little empirical investigation into how such mechanisms group or cluster together, and if certain clusters place the individual at greater risk of ED severity. Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted on an online survey of n = 180 Autistic adults (mean age = 38 years). Participants completed self-reported measures of sensory processing, social camouflaging and ED symptoms. Hierarchal clustering analyses (HCA) was conducted to explore clustering on sensory and social camouflaging behaviours, and a one-way ANOVA was conducted to explore between-cluster differences on ED symptoms. Results: Three distinct clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (high camouflaging, low sensory); Cluster 2 (high camouflaging, high sensory); and Cluster 3 (low camouflaging, average sensory). Participants in Cluster 2 reported significantly higher ED symptoms that those in Cluster 3. There were no significant differences between remaining clusters. Conclusion: Findings suggest the combination of these factors may place Autistic individuals at higher ED risk, although future longitudinal, mixed-method and more representative research, which considers a wider range of risk mechanisms, is urgently needed before conclusions can be drawn.

AB - Background: Autistic people with an eating disorder (ED) are at higher risk of poorer treatment outcomes and experiences, perhaps due to a lack of understanding surrounding underlying mechanisms. Several factors have been implicated, such as sensory processing and social camouflaging; however, there has been little empirical investigation into how such mechanisms group or cluster together, and if certain clusters place the individual at greater risk of ED severity. Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted on an online survey of n = 180 Autistic adults (mean age = 38 years). Participants completed self-reported measures of sensory processing, social camouflaging and ED symptoms. Hierarchal clustering analyses (HCA) was conducted to explore clustering on sensory and social camouflaging behaviours, and a one-way ANOVA was conducted to explore between-cluster differences on ED symptoms. Results: Three distinct clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (high camouflaging, low sensory); Cluster 2 (high camouflaging, high sensory); and Cluster 3 (low camouflaging, average sensory). Participants in Cluster 2 reported significantly higher ED symptoms that those in Cluster 3. There were no significant differences between remaining clusters. Conclusion: Findings suggest the combination of these factors may place Autistic individuals at higher ED risk, although future longitudinal, mixed-method and more representative research, which considers a wider range of risk mechanisms, is urgently needed before conclusions can be drawn.

KW - autism

KW - eating disorders

KW - sensory

KW - social camouflaging

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023858319

U2 - 10.1002/erv.70062

DO - 10.1002/erv.70062

M3 - Article

C2 - 41332225

AN - SCOPUS:105023858319

SN - 1072-4133

VL - 34

SP - 648

EP - 654

JO - European Eating Disorders Review

JF - European Eating Disorders Review

IS - 3

ER -