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. 2017 Sep;47(9):2927-2934.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3199-9.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Dewinter  1   2 , H De Graaf  3 , S Begeer  4
Affiliations

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Dewinter et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

This study compared sexual orientation and romantic relationship experience in a large sample of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 675) and general population peers (n = 8064). Gender identity was explored in the ASD group in relation to assigned gender at birth. Compared to general population peers, more people with ASD, especially women, reported sexual attraction to both same- and opposite-sex partners. About half of the participants with ASD was in a relationship (heterosexual in most cases) and most of them lived with their partner. A notable number of autistic participants, again more women than men, reported gender non-conforming feelings. Attention to gender identity and sexual diversity in education and clinical work with people with ASD is advised.

Keywords: Adolescents; Adults; Autism spectrum disorder; Gender identity; Romantic relationships; Sexual orientation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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