Less Illusion of a Just World in People with Formally Diagnosed Autism and Higher Autistic Traits.
Alex Bertrams
PMID 33355883WHAT IT FOUND
Formally diagnosed autistic people and people with higher autistic traits reported a weaker belief that the world is generally just.
They also felt less personally treated fairly, more controlled by outside forces, and less prone to self-deception.
Key findings
01Formally diagnosed autistic participants had a lower general belief in a just world than non-autistic participants.
02Higher autistic traits were associated with a lower general belief in a just world in the whole sample and separately in autistic and non-autistic participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited online and was a convenience sample, so it may not represent autistic people in general, especially those with intellectual disabilities. Autism diagnoses were self-reported and could not be verified. The data were cross-sectional, so the study cannot show that autism or autistic traits caused lower just-world belief, or that the mediators caused it. The study relied on self-report questionnaires and verbal-report skills, which may not suit all autistic people. The autistic traits measure was used as a continuum, and the paper notes this concept has been questioned as separate from clinical autism. Gender analyses excluded the three participants who reported a non-binary gender.
Declared interests
The paper names the Uranus Foundation, Switzerland, and the University of Bern as funders. It does not report other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that autism causes a lower just-world belief or that therapists should target this belief. The study was cross-sectional, used self-reported online diagnoses, and mediation analyses show statistical links, not proven cause.