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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Oct;24(4):2282-2296.
doi: 10.1177/15248380221093689. Epub 2022 May 6.

Prevalence of Victimisation in Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Grace Trundle  1 , Katy A Jones  2 , Danielle Ropar  3 , Vincent Egan  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of Victimisation in Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Grace Trundle et al. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Autistic individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing victimisation. Previous reviews have focussed specific types of victimisation. Thus, a clearer picture considering the range of victimisation experiences autistic people face is required. This systematic review aims to identify the prevalence of victimisation in autistic individuals considering a variety of victimisation types (e.g., bulling, sexual victimisation, and crime) in both adults and children from clinical and community settings. Through systematic searches of relevant databases, 291 studies met the criteria for review. Of those, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria: a) quantitative studies, b) involving autistic individuals, c) reporting prevalence rates of victimisation. Meta-analysis found a pooled prevalence rate of victimisation of 44% in autistic individuals. Subgroup analysis examined moderating factors as high heterogeneity was present. This found the pooled prevalence rates for bullying to be 47%, 16% for child abuse, 40% for sexual victimisation, 13% for cyberbullying, and 84% for multiple forms of victimisation in autistic individuals, though heterogeneity remained. Correction for participants' age, reporter used, and the population which the sample was recruited from did not reduce heterogeneity. Although heterogeneity impedes the definitive interpretation of the findings, this review illustrates the need for strategies and interventions to reduce the incidence of victimisation.

Keywords: ASD; Autism; Victimisation; bullying; child abuse; crime; meta-analysis; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prisma flow diagram showing Study Selection Process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Risk of bias graph for the 13 excluded studies.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Risk of bias graph for the 34 included studies.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Pooled Prevalence rates for reported victimisation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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