What is the M-WAY study?

The M-WAY study aims to better understand anxiety and depression in autistic young people, so as to inform mental health support for autistic young people. M-WAY is an Economic and Social Reseach Council (ESRC) funded study based at University College London. It is a three year project, starting in March 2024 and ending in February 2027. 



Why are we doing this study?


Anxiety and depression are common in autistic people and can have a large impact on health and wellbeing. Support for anxiety and depression among autistic people is lacking because we currently do not have a good undestanding of what causes these difficulties. We want to better understand why some autistic young people have anxiety and depression so that we can find ways to help autistic young people with their mental health. We are especially interested in the role of the social (e.g. relationships with friends and family) and physical (e.g. noise levels, school environment, access to green spaces) environment in the development of anxiety and depression in autistic young people. This is because: 1) There has been relatively little research into the role of environmental factors in autistic people's mental health; 2) We think it is important to understand autistic people's lives in context; 3) Many envrionmental factors are able to be changed and therefore could provide the basis for interventions aimed at reducing anxiety and depression in autistic young people.

What does the study involve?

The M-WAY study involves the following phases:

Phase 1: Interview study

We will interview autistic young people and their parents to understand their experiences with anxiety and depression.

We will then meet with stakeholders (autistic young people, autistic adults, parents, clinicians, policy makers, researchers) to discuss the findings from phase 1 and shape the questions we will explore in phase 2.

Phase 2: National datasets study

We will analyse data from two large national studies (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)) to explore the development of anxiety and depression in autistic young people, including how different factors influence anxiety and depression over time.

Community/stakeholder involvement


We think it is important that autistic people have a say in research that is about them and affects their lives. We therefore want the M-WAY project to be shaped by meaningful collaboration with autistic young people and other stakeholders. To do this, two groups are advising on the project:

1) A Young Persons Advisory Group (Y-PAG) of autistic young people aged 13 to 18 years;

2) An Adult Stakeholder Advisory Panel (A-SAP) of adult stakeholders including parents, clinicians, autistic adults, researchers and policy makers.



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