Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services
AbstractBackground.To assess the prevalence of autism traits in individuals accessing gender affirming treatments, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the regional specialist gender services in Northern Ireland.Methods.One hundred and twenty-three individuals (38 adolescents and 69 adults) curr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2020-01-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933820000231/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811156316855468032 |
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| author | Katrin Lehmann Michael Rosato Hugh McKenna Gerard Leavey |
| author_facet | Katrin Lehmann Michael Rosato Hugh McKenna Gerard Leavey |
| author_sort | Katrin Lehmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractBackground.To assess the prevalence of autism traits in individuals accessing gender affirming treatments, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the regional specialist gender services in Northern Ireland.Methods.One hundred and twenty-three individuals (38 adolescents and 69 adults) currently attending or who previously attended specialist gender services in Northern Ireland were recruited. Fifty-six individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB) and 66 individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB) took part in the study. Main outcome measures: Autism Quotient (AQ), Cambridge Behavior Scale (EQ), and RAADS-14.Results.Autism trait prevalence rates of 19.5% (AQ); 25.4% (RAADS-14); and 35.8% (poor empathy traits). A combined measure comprising all three provided a prevalence of 17.2%. There were no mean differences in the scores between AMAB (assigned male at birth) individuals and AFAB (assigned female at birth) individuals.Conclusions.Autism traits present additional challenges during the assessment and treatment of individuals with gender dysphoria. Autism screening tools can aid in the identification of individual with additional needs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:49:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f85da44a6fc45ccacb549cfdf5bbf95 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:49:32Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f85da44a6fc45ccacb549cfdf5bbf952023-03-09T12:33:57ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852020-01-016310.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.23Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender servicesKatrin Lehmann0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1350-6994Michael Rosato1Hugh McKenna2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4916-6602Gerard Leavey3Bamford Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United KingdomBamford Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United KingdomInstitute of Nursing and Health Research, Ulster University, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland, United KingdomBamford Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United KingdomAbstractBackground.To assess the prevalence of autism traits in individuals accessing gender affirming treatments, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the regional specialist gender services in Northern Ireland.Methods.One hundred and twenty-three individuals (38 adolescents and 69 adults) currently attending or who previously attended specialist gender services in Northern Ireland were recruited. Fifty-six individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB) and 66 individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB) took part in the study. Main outcome measures: Autism Quotient (AQ), Cambridge Behavior Scale (EQ), and RAADS-14.Results.Autism trait prevalence rates of 19.5% (AQ); 25.4% (RAADS-14); and 35.8% (poor empathy traits). A combined measure comprising all three provided a prevalence of 17.2%. There were no mean differences in the scores between AMAB (assigned male at birth) individuals and AFAB (assigned female at birth) individuals.Conclusions.Autism traits present additional challenges during the assessment and treatment of individuals with gender dysphoria. Autism screening tools can aid in the identification of individual with additional needs.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933820000231/type/journal_articleAutismgender dysphoriaprevalencetransgender |
| spellingShingle | Katrin Lehmann Michael Rosato Hugh McKenna Gerard Leavey Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services European Psychiatry Autism gender dysphoria prevalence transgender |
| title | Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| title_full | Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| title_fullStr | Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| title_short | Autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| title_sort | autism trait prevalence in treatment seeking adolescents and adults attending specialist gender services |
| topic | Autism gender dysphoria prevalence transgender |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933820000231/type/journal_article |
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