Autistic traits, systemising, empathising, and theory of mind in transgender and non-binary adults.
Karson T F Kung
PMID 32993801WHAT IT FOUND
Transgender men and non-binary adults assigned female at birth reported more autistic traits and more systemising, and less empathy and mental-state reading, than control females.
Transgender women and non-binary adults assigned male at birth did not report more autistic traits.
Key findings
01Compared with published general population female control samples, transgender men and non-binary adults assigned female at birth had higher Autism Spectrum Quotient and Systemising Quotient-Short scores and lower Empathy Quotient-Short, Empathy Quotient-10, and Eyes Test scores.
02Transgender women and non-binary adults assigned male at birth did not differ significantly from published general population male control samples in Autism Spectrum Quotient scores.
0315% of transgender men, 19% of non-binary adults assigned female at birth, 3% of transgender women, and 2% of non-binary adults assigned male at birth met the Autism Spectrum Quotient cut-off of 35+, but the Autism Spectrum Quotient is not a diagnostic tool.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The Autism Spectrum Quotient is not a diagnostic tool, so high scores do not establish autism. The gender minority sample was compared with published average scores from other studies, not with individually recruited control participants from the same setting. The study was cross-sectional and used self-reported questionnaires, so it cannot show why the differences occur or whether they are clinically meaningful. The authors state that the measures may not precisely assess the theoretical constructs. Some subgroup analyses had small numbers, and the brain type distributions were not tested statistically because many cells had fewer than 10 participants. The authors did not apply Bonferroni correction to individual p values, although they argue the main assigned-female-at-birth effects would remain significant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that transgender men or non-binary adults assigned female at birth have autism, or that these traits explain gender identity. The study used self-reported questionnaire scores, compared them with published average scores from other samples, and the authors state the Autism Spectrum Quotient is not a diagnostic tool.