Waite Meryssa, Fouladi Rachel T, Iarocci Grace
Simon Fraser University (Psychology), Burnaby, BC, Canada.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2025 Jan 13. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06707-6.
The current study examined the associations between internalizing symptoms, social motivation, and gender among autistic and non-autistic youth. Caregivers of 386 participants age 6 to 14 years completed measures of their child's internalizing symptoms and social motivation. Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to compare internalizing symptoms and social motivation across autistic and non-autistic girls and boys. Social motivation was found to be higher among non-autistic participants compared to autistic participants, with no significant gender differences observed in social motivation within groups. Social motivation was found to be a significant predictor of internalizing symptoms. The association between social motivation and internalizing symptoms varied by gender and diagnostic status. Higher internalizing symptom scores were associated with lower social motivation among autistic girls, non-autistic girls, and non-autistic boys, but no association was found among autistic boys. The current study found that the relations between social motivation and anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms in autistic youth varied by gender. The strong association between internalizing symptoms and social motivation among autistic girls and not autistic boys may be due to the unique social experiences and expectations associated with the intersecting gender and neurodivergent identities of autistic girls. The findings of the current study underscore the value of adopting an intersectionality perspective by considering both the influence of gender and neurodivergent identities together when addressing the social experiences and mental health of autistic youth.
本研究考察了自闭症和非自闭症青少年内化症状、社会动机与性别的关联。386名6至14岁参与者的照顾者完成了对其孩子内化症状和社会动机的测量。进行了相关性和分层回归分析，以比较自闭症和非自闭症女孩与男孩的内化症状和社会动机。结果发现，与自闭症参与者相比，非自闭症参与者的社会动机更高，且在各群体内部的社会动机方面未观察到显著的性别差异。社会动机被发现是内化症状的一个重要预测因素。社会动机与内化症状之间的关联因性别和诊断状况而异。内化症状得分较高与自闭症女孩、非自闭症女孩和非自闭症男孩的社会动机较低相关，但在自闭症男孩中未发现关联。本研究发现，自闭症青少年中社会动机与焦虑、抑郁和躯体化症状之间的关系因性别而异。自闭症女孩而非自闭症男孩内化症状与社会动机之间的强烈关联可能归因于与自闭症女孩交叉的性别和神经发育差异身份相关的独特社会经历和期望。本研究结果强调了在解决自闭症青少年的社会经历和心理健康问题时，通过同时考虑性别和神经发育差异身份的影响来采用交叉性视角的价值。
