Evolutionary psychiatry explores why humans are vulnerable to common, heritable mental disorders without clear pathology, considering factors like environmental impacts and misinterpreted adaptations. While it offers explanations, it doesn't provide evidence for reducing harm or developing new treatments.

Practitioners suggest that evolutionary explanations might reduce stigma and promote acceptance. For example, viewing autistic traits as evolutionary trade-offs—enhanced systemizing and memory at the expense of social abilities—could encourage society to nurture strengths and forgive weaknesses. However, the impact of such explanations on promoting inclusion hasn't been studied.

This project aims to fill that gap by developing a "Stigmatization and Integration Questionnaire" (SIQ) to assess how different explanatory frameworks affect stigmatization. Collaborating globally with experts, the SIQ will be designed to be applicable across disorders and cultures.
In the second phase, the SIQ will be used to determine if evolutionary explanations of autism reduce stigmatization compared to traditional ones. Positive findings could justify further development of evolutionary psychiatry and encourage its integration into education and research on other mental disorders.