Developing an Inventory of Workplace Stress Coping Strategies Among Autistic Adults: A Grounded Delphi Study

Abstract Background Stress levels are often elevated among autistic people, a pattern that also extends to the workplace. Effective coping strategies can reduce the negative impact of stress on work retention and overall wellbeing. However, the unique coping strategies of autistic people might not be represented in available inventories used for assessing coping styles such as the Brief COPE. Objective The aim of this study is to capture coping strategies applied by autistic adults at work and develop a pilot version of a coping inventory. Methods In a participatory, grounded Delphi method study we assessed coping strategies connected to work stress among autistic adults. Both quantitative (Brief COPE) and qualitative feedback of five autistic individuals and six professionals working with autistic employees was analyzed and continuously fed back in an iterative process. Results Autistic participants and professionals described 21 categories of stress management strategies for autistic employees that we clustered into the domains autism-specific coping strategies and the two existing Brief COPE domains emotion-oriented strategies and problem-oriented strategies. Conclusions This first draft of a coping inventory can help to assess the unique strategies autistic people use for managing stress at the workplace and may serve as the basis for a practical tool in coaching and intervention.