School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
Research Department, AEIOU Foundation, Brisbane, Australia; School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.
Res Dev Disabil. 2017 Sep;68:27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.07.009. Epub 2017 Jul 20.
Males are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) approximately four times as often as females. This has led to interest in recent years of potential under-diagnosis of females, as well as negative consequences for females with ASD due to under-identification. A number of potential explanations for gender bias in diagnosis are discussed including that females and males may present differently despite showing the same core symptoms. Previous research has shown inconsistent findings in comparisons between genders in young children with ASD for whom early intervention is vital. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the social, communication, and cognitive functioning, as well as level of ASD symptoms, in a cohort of children who presented for early intervention to inform understanding of gender differences in this population, as well as to inform understanding of the mechanisms by which gender bias may occur.
Participants included 254 children (42 females) aged 29-74 months who completed measures of cognition, communication skills, adaptive behaviour, and ASD symptoms on entry to early intervention.
Consistent with hypotheses, no significant gender differences were found both overall, and when split by functioning level. However, a similar ratio of males and females was found in both high- and low-functioning groups contrary to predictions.
These results are consistent with some of the previous research that suggests gender differences may not be apparent in clinical samples at this young age. We highlight a need for further research that may use universal screening or longitudinal methods to understand the trajectory of development for females with ASD specifically. Such research could better inform timely and tailored intervention from the preschool years onwards.
男性被诊断出患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的概率大约是女性的四倍。近年来，人们对女性可能存在漏诊的情况以及对 ASD 女性的负面后果产生了兴趣，这是因为识别不足。目前已经讨论了许多可能导致诊断性别偏见的原因，包括尽管存在相同的核心症状，但男女可能表现不同。尽管对早期干预至关重要的 ASD 幼儿的性别比较研究结果不一致，但先前的研究表明，男孩和女孩之间存在不一致的发现。因此，本研究的目的是调查一组前来接受早期干预的儿童的社会、沟通和认知功能以及 ASD 症状水平，以了解该人群中的性别差异，并了解可能发生性别偏见的机制。
参与者包括 254 名儿童（42 名女性），年龄在 29-74 个月之间，他们在进入早期干预时完成了认知、沟通技能、适应行为和 ASD 症状的测量。
与假设一致，无论总体上还是按功能水平划分，都没有发现显著的性别差异。然而，与预测相反，在高功能和低功能组中都发现了相似比例的男性和女性。
这些结果与一些先前的研究一致，即性别差异在这个年龄段的临床样本中可能并不明显。我们强调需要进一步研究，可能使用普遍筛查或纵向方法来了解 ASD 女性的具体发展轨迹。这种研究可以更好地为从学龄前开始的及时和量身定制的干预提供信息。
