Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr;49(4):1570-1585.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3843-z.

Gender Variance and the Autism Spectrum: An Examination of Children Ages 6-12 Years

A Natisha Nabbijohn  1 , Anna I R van der Miesen  2 , Alanna Santarossa  1   3 , Diana Peragine  1 , Annelou L C de Vries  2 , Arne Popma  2 , Meng-Chuan Lai  1   4   5   6 , Doug P VanderLaan  7   8
Affiliations

Gender Variance and the Autism Spectrum: An Examination of Children Ages 6-12 Years

A Natisha Nabbijohn et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Gender variance (GV) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently co-occur in clinical populations. We investigated GV in association with ASD characteristics in nonclinical children and in children with developmental/mental health diagnoses. In 6-12-year-olds (N = 2445; 51% birth-assigned boys), the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children measured GV and the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire measured six subdomains of ASD characteristics. Among nonclinical children, GV was associated with parent-reported difficulties orienting socially and stereotyped behaviors. GV was also associated with parent-reported clinical diagnoses of ASD, sensory processing disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. These findings suggest associations between specific ASD characteristics and GV in nonclinical children. Also, childhood GV should be further examined in a range of clinical populations, including ASD individuals.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Gender dysphoria; Gender variance; Oppositional defiant disorder; Sensory processing disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist 4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
    1. Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families.
    1. Adelson, S. L. (2012). Practice parameter on gay, lesbian, or bisexual sexual orientation, gender variance, and gender discordance in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(9), 957–974. - DOI
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. - DOI
    1. Arcelus, J., Bouman, W. P., Van Den Noortgate, W., Claes, L., Witcomb, G., & Gernandez-Aranda, F. (2015). Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies in transsexualism. European Psychiatry, 30(6), 807–815. - PubMed - DOI

MeSH terms