While searching for articles on bisexuality and transgender identification, I stumbled upon an interesting study on the relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and sexuality. Our world is only just coming to terms with the idea of sexual variation and most of us haven’t even thought about how mental disorders impact sexuality.
Gender Role
http://libcom.org
This study, conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, gathered information about 103 adults, 50 with ASD and 53 without. Those participants who did not have ASD were used as a control group. Each person answered a series of questions to determine how they fit into gender stereotypes. For example, a question might read, “I am aggressive” those who respond with “I strongly agree” would score higher on the masculinity scale.
The results of this study revealed “both men and women with ASD rated themselves as having a less masculine gender role than the controls.” This means that adults with ASD are less masculine than their same-sex counterparts.
Issues
This section of the study had a few issues. The data was a little sporadic. Adult females with ADS identified as “less masculine” but they were also twice as likely to be “tomboyish” in youth. These facts seem to contradict each other. Personally, I believe that the sample size was too small to present a strong relationship between ASD affects gender roles. Perhaps a larger sample would clear up some of the cloudy material.
Sexual Debut
http://cdn.tinybuddha.com
The statistically stronger portion of the study dealt with the sexual debut and sexual patterns of participants. Adults with ASD reported lower libido and delayed sexual debut. In fact, 16% of ASD participants had not engaged in sexual intercourse. This was significantly higher than the control group. Moreover, ASD adults had less interest in sex in general.
This portion of the study was much more consistent data-wise. The correlations between ASD and control group sexuality were stronger and clearer. Even so, the small sample and lack of scientific mechanism makes me question the legitimacy of the study.
What Does it All Mean?
Overall, this study presents some interesting ideas about ASD and sexuality. Unfortunately, it contains little more than correlational information. The data gathered may become useful later as we investigate possible scientific explanations for gender identity and sexuality.