Background: Many autistic adults report interpersonal traumas (IPTs) such as physical or sexual assault, which are often associated with posttraumatic stress and dissociation. Factors such as gender might make autistic individuals particularly vulnerable to experiencing IPT and negative posttraumatic symptoms. Methods: In this study, 687 self-identified autistic adults completed an online survey on their traumatic experiences and mental health symptoms. Results: Seventy-two percent of participants reported experiencing sexual assault, other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences, or physical assault. Forty-four percent of participants met the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including 50% of those who had experienced IPT and 28% of those who had not (odds ratio = 2.50; 95% confidence interval 1.74-3.60). IPT was also significantly associated with higher levels of psychoform ( p < 0.001) and somatoform ( p < 0.001) dissociation. Autistic cisgender women and gender minorities experienced a significantly higher number of traumas ( p = 0.004) and were significantly more likely than cisgender men to experience sexual IPT ( p < 0.001) and meet the criteria for PTSD ( p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between autistic individuals with and without a professional autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Conclusions: IPT is associated with potentially severe mental health outcomes for autistic adults. Autistic women and gender minorities may be particularly vulnerable to sexual IPT and adverse outcomes. Increased screening for a history of IPT and posttraumatic symptoms is recommended for all autistic adults regardless of ASD diagnosis status.
To address the paucity of current research on the development of creativity in deaf students, and to extend existing research to adolescents, the present study investigated divergent thinking, a method of assessing creativity, in both deaf and hearing adolescents. We assessed divergent thinking in two domains, figural and verbal, while also adjusting the instructional method in written format, sign language, or spoken English. Deaf students' performance was equal to, or more creative than, hearing students on the figural assessment of divergent thinking, but less creative on the verbal assessment. Additional studies should be conducted to determine whether this was an anomalous finding or one that might contribute to hypotheses yielding effective interventions.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children born to hearing parents have profound theory-of-mind (ToM) delays, yet little is known about how providing hearing assistance early in life, through cochlear implants and hearing aids, influences their ToM development. We thus addressed (a) whether young DHH children with early hearing provision developed ToM differently than older children did in previous research and (b) what ToM understandings characterize this understudied population. Findings from 84 three- to six-year-old DHH children primarily acquiring spoken language demonstrated that accumulated hearing experience influenced their ToM, as measured by a five-step ToM scale. Moreover, language abilities mediated this developmental relationship: Children with more advanced language abilities, because of more time using cochlear implants and hearing aids, had better ToM growth. These findings demonstrate the crucial relationships among hearing, language, and ToM for DHH children acquiring spoken language, thereby addressing theoretical and practical questions about ToM development.
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