Sexual and Romantic Relationships in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Report of an Italian...

The existing literature highlights the importance of psychosexual education for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed a group training program on sexuality and affectivity, specifically designed for adolescents with ASD, with the aim of investigating changes in psychosexual functioning after the intervention and evaluating its clinical utility. The program, consisting of 10 sessions and conducted by two expert clinicians, was administered to three small groups (maximum six participants per group), for a total of 17 adolescents (aged 12-18) diagnosed with ASD without intellectual disability or language impairment. Parent-report measures of sociosexual behaviors were collected at baseline (T0), after the intervention (T1), and at a three-month follow-up (T2). Cognitive abilities and ASD symptom severity were also assessed at baseline for each participant. No significant differences emerged among the three groups in terms of cognitive functioning or ASD symptom severity. Analysis of the entire sample revealed a significant improvement in sex education knowledge and a reduction in dysfunctional sexual behaviors following participation in the program, regardless of cognitive level or symptom severity. Conversely, no significant changes were found in social behaviors related to sexuality, privacy awareness, or parental concerns. These findings suggest that participation in a psychosexual group training program tailored for adolescents with ASD may enhance knowledge and reduce problematic behaviors in the sociosexual domain. Future implementations may benefit from increasing the number of sessions, employing both self- and parent-report measures, including satisfaction and fidelity assessments, and involving caregivers in parallel sessions to maximize clinical impact.