Presenter: Miranda McQuarrie
Authors: Garrett Cardon, Miranda McQuarrie, Savanah Calton
Faculty Advisor: Garrett Cardon
Institution: Brigham Young University
Though the ratio has fluctuated, far more males than females are currently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (henceforth autism/autistic). While some have assumed autism to be more common in males, others suggest that the diagnostic discrepancy may be due to differences in autistic trait expression between males and females. Few studies have examined differences in trait expression as they pertain to atypical sensory processing and its associated characteristics-e.g., anxiety and autistic trait camouflaging. While such autistic traits are known to be common and often challenging for autistic individuals, similar patterns are found across the neurotypical population. Thus, examining such characteristics in neurotypical individuals can provide insight into fundamental differences between males and females’ expressions of autistic traits, sensory processing, and related behaviors. We hypothesized significant differences in sensory processing and its correlates between neurotypical young adult males and females. Participants were 1020 neurotypical young adults (513 female), ages 18-26 years. Subjects completed multiple questionnaires, each measuring behaviors of interest (autistic traits, sensory processing, autistic trait camouflaging, and anxiety). One-way ANOVA was used to test differences between males and females’ questionnaire scores. Relationships among these behaviors were evaluated using correlation, regression, and mediation analyses. Results revealed that both males and females showed significant positive correlations between autistic traits and sensory processing, but did not differ in levels of overall autistic trait expression. Notably, females also expressed differing sensory atypicalities and increased sensory hyperactivity vs. males. Furthermore, we observed significantly more anxiety and autistic trait camouflaging and that these behaviors were more strongly related in females. These results highlight legitimate differences between neurotypical males and females in autistic traits, sensory processing, and related behaviors. Understanding the above could lead to enhanced understanding of autism, as well as better diagnostic practices and supports for both neurotypical and autistic individuals, especially females.