Motivations for the use of social compensatory strategies in a non-Western context.

Abstract

<p><strong>Background</strong>: Recent qualitative studies have begun to identify various coping strategies used by both autistic and non-autistic people to compensate for their social difficulties or increase social acceptance, including camouflaging and masking. However, this research has largely involved Western samples. Little is known about the use of social compensatory strategies beyond Western contexts. Specifically, sociocultural contexts may influence socialisation goals and self-constructs, and potentially shape differences in the motivational processes and experiences of strategy use across cultures.<br></p><p><strong>Objectives</strong>: This study aimed to explore motivations for different compensatory strategies and similarities and differences between autistic and non-autistic adults in Hong Kong, using a mixed methods approach. Our research questions are: What are the underlying motivations for compensatory strategy use in Hong Kong adults? Are they similar in autistic and non-autistic people?<br></p><p><strong>Methods</strong>: We used Livingston et al.’s (2019) methodology. Online survey responses were collected from a convenience sample of 72 autistic adults, 48 self-identifying autistic adults (who did not have a formal diagnosis), and 207 non-autistic adults aged 18 to 72 years (M=26.4, SD=9.76; with 61% identified as females) in Hong Kong. Participants completed a set of open-ended and semi-open questions on the use and experiences of social compensatory strategies, and self-report questionnaires measuring autistic traits and cultural orientations, as part of a larger cross-cultural study. Thematic analysis was conducted to address our research questions. Our findings were compared to those from previous Western-sample studies.<br></p><p><strong>Results</strong>: We identified five themes related to the motivations for strategy use which were shared between autistic and non-autistic people: 1) to feel safe and at ease (“my feelings first”); 2) instrumental functions (“normal operation of life”, e.g., at work); 3) social understanding and relationships (to navigate the self and the social world, e.g., “understand myself and other people more”); 4) social evaluation (“in the eyes of others”); and 5) prosocial concerns (“so everyone is not unhappy”). Participants’ motivations corresponded to broad categorisations of motivations (non-social and social domains, and internal vs external factors) reported in previous Western-based studies. Our findings further suggested that the use of compensatory strategies can be more specifically driven by motivations for reward seeking and risk avoidance with respect to each domain of motivations. Our findings suggest particular motivations to avoid stressful experiences and meet others’ expectations, whether driven by intrinsic prosocial concerns, social pressures or both. Autistic people reported attempts to act “normal” to protect themselves from being viewed and/or treated unfavourably. Social understanding and relationships was the most prevalent theme in the diagnosed autistic group.<br></p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: We found qualitatively similar domains of motivations across autistic and non-autistic people in Hong Kong, which were also consistent with previous findings in Western-based studies. However, our participants’ report of strategy use seems to be characterised by a tendency to avoid risks and a sensitivity to external or social rewards/stress. The findings will feed into our larger cross-cultural study between the UK and Hong Kong to understand factors shaping the development and use of social compensatory strategies in autism within and across cultures. <br></p>