Phenotypic divergence between individuals with self-reported autistic traits and clinically ascertained autism

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Online research offers rapid recruitment but relies on self-reports, potentially lacking clinical validity for conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• The clinical validity of using self-reported traits versus in-person clinical evaluations in ASD research requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the characteristics of adults with ASD recruited in-person with clinical evaluations against those recruited online based on self-reported autistic traits.
• To investigate discrepancies in social anxiety, avoidant symptoms, and social behaviors between clinically ascertained and trait-defined ASD samples.

Main Methods:

• Compared 56 in-person adults with ASD (clinician-evaluated) to matched online samples (Prolific): 56 with high autistic traits and 56 with low autistic traits (self-reported).
• Assessed social anxiety, avoidant symptoms, and social tendencies during decision-making tasks using self-report surveys and behavioral observations.

Main Results:

• Online high-trait participants reported more social anxiety and avoidant symptoms than in-person ASD participants, despite comparable self-reported autistic traits.
• No correlation was found between self-rated and clinician-rated autistic traits in the in-person sample.
• In-person ASD participants exhibited less perception of social influence and lower affiliative behavior toward virtual characters compared to online groups.

Conclusions:

• Findings underscore the critical need to differentiate between clinically ascertained and trait-defined samples in autism spectrum disorder research.
• Self-report measures alone may not fully capture the clinical phenotype of ASD, particularly concerning social functioning.
• Online recruitment methods, while efficient, necessitate careful consideration of participant characteristics to ensure research validity in neuropsychiatric studies.