Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and risk of coercive sexual victimization in childhood and adolescence – a population‐based prospective twin study

Gotby, Agnes Ohlsson; Lichtenstein, Paul; Långström, Niklas; Pettersson, Erik

doi:10.1111/jcpp.12884

Cited by 62 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Similar to the increased rate of potentially teratogenic medication use in our sample, Zerbo and colleagues (2019) found that a significantly higher proportion of autistic adults received a prescription for psychotherapeutic and anticonvulsant medications compared with age-matched adults in the general U.S. population. The finding that autistic women were more likely to have been victims of assault in the current study also aligns with results from the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden where 18-year-old autistic girls reported an almost threefold increased risk of coercive sexual victimization compared to those without autism (Ohlsson Gotby et al, 2018). However, the results of past studies were not stratified by sex, did not focus on the reproductive years, and/or relied on self-report measures.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…However, autistic women encounter challenges obtaining and maintaining employment (Taylor et al, 2015(Taylor et al, , 2019 and, consequently, experience high rates of poverty (Nicolaidis et al, 2015). Many medical and psychiatric conditions occur more frequently in autistic women than in the general population (Croen et al, 2015;Joshi et al, 2013;Lugnegård et al, 2011), and autistic women are at increased risk of sexual victimization and financial exploitation (K. R. Brown-Lavoie et al, 2014;Ohlsson Gotby et al, 2018). High rates of medication use (Buck et al, 2014;Esbensen et al, 2009;Lake et al, 2012;Sundelin et al, 2018;Vohra et al, 2016;Zerbo et al, 2019) and poor access to primary health care (Nicolaidis et al, 2013;Zerbo et al, 2019) are also common among autistic women.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women in Ontario: A population-based, cross-sectional study

Tint

Brown

Chen³

et al. 2021

Autism

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While an increasing number of girls and women are being identified with autism, we know little about the health of reproductive-aged autistic women. Our objectives were to (1) describe health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women who could potentially become pregnant and (2) compare these characteristics with those of non-autistic women. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using 2017–2018 administrative health data from Ontario, Canada. A total of 6,870 fifteen- to 44-year-old autistic women were identified and compared with 2,686,160 non-autistic women. Variables of interest included social determinants of health (neighborhood income, residential instability, material deprivation, rurality), health (co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, use of potentially teratogenic medications, history of assault), and health care factors (continuity of primary care). Overall, reproductive-aged autistic women had poorer health compared with non-autistic women, including increased rates of material deprivation, chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, use of potentially teratogenic medications, and history of assault. These findings highlight the need for health interventions tailored to the needs of reproductive-aged autistic women. Lay abstract While an increasing number of girls and women are being identified with autism, we know little about reproductive-aged autistic women’s health. This study used administrative data from Ontario, Canada, to compare the health of reproductive-aged autistic women with non-autistic women. Overall, reproductive-aged autistic women had poorer health compared with non-autistic women, including increased rates of material deprivation, chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, history of assault, and use of potentially teratogenic medications (i.e. drugs that can be harmful to the development of an embryo or fetus). These findings suggest that there is a need for health interventions tailored to the needs of reproductive-aged autistic women.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women in Ontario: A population-based, cross-sectional study

Tint

Brown

Chen³

et al. 2021

Autism

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“…13,14 Moreover, there is evidence that women and girls with ASD can be at increased risk of sexual victimisation. [15][16][17] Whilst due to the retrospective study design it was not possible to screen for ASD in this project, it would be recommended for future work in this domain to consider doing so.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The high prevalence of pre-existing mental health complaints in clients attending Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre: Implications for initial management and engagement with the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor service at the centre

Manning

Majeed‐Ariss²,

Mattison

et al. 2019

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine

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“…Brown-Lavoie, Viecili, & Weiss, 2014;Gotby, Lichtenstein, Langstrom, & Pettersson, 2018;Roberts, Koenen, Lyall, Robinson, & Weisskopf, 2015;White & Buehler, 2012). However, more recently in a study of 4500 participants, although ASD was found to be associated with a three times greater risk of childhood sexual victimisation, once symptoms associated more generally with neurodevelopmental disorders as measured using the Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) were controlled for there was no significant effect of the ASD diagnosis (Gotby et al, 2018). This suggests that future research should look at general neurodevelopmental difficulties rather than focussing on individual diagnoses (e.g.…”

Section: Exploitation and Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Self-reported motivations for offending by autistic sexual offenders

Payne

Maras

Russell

et al. 2019

Autism

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Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to have elevated prevalence in forensic populations (approximately 4.5%). It has been suggested that offenders with autism spectrum disorder engage more frequently in crimes against the person and sexual offences than other types of offences such as property, driving and drug offences. To date little is empirically known about the reasons why autistic individuals engage in sexual offences, yet understanding the motivation(s) for offending are key to developing and implementing effective interventions to help reduce both initial offending and also re-offending. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine autistic sexual offenders in prisons and probation services across England and Wales. Thematic analyses revealed five main themes (social difficulties, misunderstanding, sex and relationship deficits, inadequate control and disequilibrium). Analyses indicated that social skills difficulties, lack of perspective/weak central coherence, misunderstanding the seriousness of their behaviours and a lack of appropriate relationships were the main reasons for offending reported by this group of autistic sexual offenders. Findings highlight a need to develop sex and relationship education interventions which are tailored to the needs of autistic individuals, to address both their reported reasons for offending and their reported lack of sexual knowledge and awareness.

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Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and risk of coercive sexual victimization in childhood and adolescence – a population‐based prospective twin study

Cited by 62 publications

References 45 publications

Health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women in Ontario: A population-based, cross-sectional study

Health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women in Ontario: A population-based, cross-sectional study

The high prevalence of pre-existing mental health complaints in clients attending Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre: Implications for initial management and engagement with the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor service at the centre

Self-reported motivations for offending by autistic sexual offenders

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