Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Gender Development Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Mol Autism. 2020 Sep 29;11(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s13229-020-00378-7.
Prior research examining autistic traits in gender minority adults has reported mixed findings. Most prior studies did not include non-binary individuals. Little is known about the mechanisms shaping autistic traits in gender minority adults. This study examined autistic traits, as well as constructs related to the extreme male brain theory of autism and the mindblindness theory, in transgender and non-binary adults.
An online survey was conducted to assess autism-related traits in 323 gender minority adults, including 74 transgender men (individuals assigned female at birth and identify as a man), 95 transgender women (individuals assigned male at birth and identify as a woman), 104 non-binary AFAB (individuals assigned female at birth and identify as non-binary), and 50 non-binary AMAB (individuals assigned male at birth and identify as non-binary). Autistic traits, systemising, empathising, and Theory of Mind (ToM) were measured using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the short forms of the Systemising Quotient (SQ-Short) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short), the 10-item version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-10) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Eyes Test). Participants' scores on these measures were compared with previously published scores based on large-scale general population samples including thousands of participants.
On average, compared with control females in the general population samples, both transgender men and non-binary AFAB scored significantly higher on the AQ and the SQ-Short but scored significantly lower on the EQ-Short, the EQ-10, and the Eyes Test. No clear or consistent group differences emerged when transgender women and non-binary AMAB were compared with control males.
The present study does not have a large sample of gender minority adults. It has been argued that the measures employed may not provide a precise assessment of the psychological constructs of interest. The present study has a "non-clinical" sample. However, not all gender minorities have access to or require clinical services, and so a "non-clinical" sample may be more representative of the gender minority community as a whole than samples recruited through clinics.
The current findings suggest a "masculinised" autism-related profile and reduced ToM in transgender men and in non-binary AFAB. These findings might be interpreted to support the extreme male brain theory of autism and the mindblindness theory. Further research is needed to corroborate these findings.
先前研究考察了性别少数群体成年人中的自闭症特征，结果喜忧参半。先前的大多数研究都没有纳入非二元性别个体。关于塑造性别少数群体成年人中自闭症特征的机制，我们知之甚少。本研究调查了跨性别和非二元性别成年人的自闭症特征，以及与自闭症的极端男性大脑理论和心智盲理论相关的结构。
我们通过在线调查评估了 323 名性别少数群体成年人的自闭症相关特征，其中包括 74 名跨性别男性（出生时被指定为女性，认同为男性）、95 名跨性别女性（出生时被指定为男性，认同为女性）、104 名非二元性别女性（出生时被指定为女性，认同为非二元性别）和 50 名非二元性别男性（出生时被指定为男性，认同为非二元性别）。使用自闭症谱系商数（AQ）、系统思维商数（SQ-Short）和同理心商数（EQ-Short）的简短版本、同理心商数（EQ-10）的 10 项版本和“读心测试”（Eyes Test）来测量自闭症特征、系统思维、同理心和心理理论（ToM）。将参与者在这些测量中的得分与基于包括数千名参与者的大型普通人群样本的先前发表的得分进行了比较。
平均而言，与普通人群样本中的女性对照组相比，跨性别男性和非二元性别女性在 AQ 和 SQ-Short 上的得分显著更高，但在 EQ-Short、EQ-10 和 Eyes Test 上的得分显著更低。与男性对照组相比，跨性别女性和非二元性别男性没有明显或一致的群体差异。
本研究没有大量的性别少数群体成年人样本。有人认为，所采用的措施可能无法对感兴趣的心理结构进行精确评估。本研究的样本是“非临床”的。然而，并非所有性别少数群体都能获得或需要临床服务，因此，与通过诊所招募的样本相比，“非临床”样本可能更能代表整个性别少数群体社区。
目前的研究结果表明，跨性别男性和非二元性别女性具有“男性化”的自闭症相关特征和较差的心理理论。这些发现可以解释为支持自闭症的极端男性大脑理论和心智盲理论。需要进一步的研究来证实这些发现。
