A Relation Between Autism Traits and Gender Self-concept: Evidence from Explicit and Implicit Measures
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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Aimilia Kallitsounaki1,2, David Williams3
1School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. ak881@kent.ac.uk.
Abstract:
A link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender identity difficulties has been suggested. In this study, we found that, among adults from the general population (N = 101) ASD traits (measured using the Autism-spectrum Quotient) were associated negatively and significantly with the strength of both explicit gender self-concept (measured using the Personal Attributes Questionnaire) and implicit gender self-concept (measured using an Implicit Association Task). Further analyses showed that a subgroup with high/clinically significant ASD traits showed significantly weaker explicit and implicit gender self-concepts than a subgroup with low ASD traits. Results were similar in both males and females, although there was some evidence of a selective influence of ASD traits on implicit gender self-concept among females only.
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