Comportamiento de enmascaramiento (camuflaje social) en adultos autistas en contextos laborales: riesgos, consecuencias y estrategias de apoyo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25118/2763-9037.2026.v16.1666Palabras clave:
Trastorno del Espectro Autista, conducta imitativa, adaptación psicológica, estrés laboral, TEAResumen
Introducción: El camuflaje social, o enmascaramiento (masking), describe el esfuerzo deliberado o automático que los adultos autistas emplean para ocultar características asociadas al autismo y adoptar comportamientos que los entornos predominantemente no autistas consideran típicos. Aunque sus efectos psicosociales y sus implicaciones para la inclusión laboral son cada vez más reconocidos, la evidencia en contextos laborales sigue siendo limitada y fragmentada. Objetivo: Analizar críticamente la literatura reciente sobre el enmascaramiento en adultos autistas en el ámbito laboral, con foco en sus motivaciones, manifestaciones, impactos psicosociales y en las estrategias organizacionales capaces de mitigar su ocurrencia y efectos. Método: Revisión narrativa orientada por los criterios SANRA. Se buscaron estudios publicados entre enero de 2017 y enero de 2025 en PubMed, Scopus, Embase y Google Scholar, incluyendo artículos originales, revisiones, estudios cualitativos, informes de casos y documentos institucionales, en inglés y portugués, sobre el enmascaramiento en adultos autistas en el trabajo. Resultado: Surgieron cuatro categorías temáticas: motivaciones y estrategias de enmascaramiento (compensación, supresión conductual y asimilación adaptativa); impactos psicosociales (ansiedad, depresión, burnout autista y conflictos de identidad); factores organizacionales que lo mantienen (conocimiento limitado sobre el autismo, falta de adaptaciones y barreras culturales); y estrategias de apoyo institucional (intervenciones estructurales, capacitación de gestores, ajustes ambientales y cultura organizacional inclusiva). Conclusión: Los hallazgos indican la necesidad de intervenciones multidimensionales que combinen apoyo individual y cambios estructurales en el entorno laboral. Dada la heterogeneidad y la naturaleza mayormente cualitativa de la evidencia, se recomiendan estudios longitudinales, estandarizados, representativos y participativos que involucren a personas autistas.
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