The gender of participants in published research involving people with autism spectrum disorders
Introduction
In 1943, Kanner described eight boys and three girls who exhibited “autistic disturbances of affective contact.” Since that time, epidemiological studies have confirmed that the condition now known as “autism,” and similar conditions which, with autism, constitute “autism spectrum disorders” (ASD), is more common in boys than in girls (see Fombonne, 2003). Although the reported male:female ratio for ASD varied considerably across studies, ranging from 1.33 (McCarthy, Fitzgerald, & Smith, 1984) to 16 (Wing, Yeates, Brierly, & Gould, 1976) in the 29 studies reviewed by Fombonne, the mean male:female ratio was 4.3, which is similar to the 4.6 value evident in 2008 data reported by the 14 sites comprised by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (Baio, 2012). Although the exact male:female ratio is impossible to specify, there is good reason to believe that autism “is four to five times more common among boys than girls,” as Autism Speaks (2013) points out on its website.
Edwards, Watkins, Lotfizadeh, and Poling (2012) recently reported on the ages of participants with autism in intervention studies published in Autism, Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (JADD), and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (RASD) from 2009 through early 2012 and noted in passing that, “of the 1644 participants whose sex was reported, 85.8% were male” (p. 997). This percentage is equivalent to a male:female ratio of about 6, which suggests that males are in a statistical sense over-represented as participants in intervention studies. It is not clear whether males are similarly over-represented in the literature at large. The purpose of this study was to examine all recent published research articles in four prominent autism journals to provide further information on the gender of people with ASD who serve as research participants.
Section snippets
Methods
In determining which journals to evaluate, the PsycINFO data base was searched using “autism” as the sole search term and limiting the search to 2010 through 2012. This strategy located articles involving the full spectrum of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), not just autism. Therefore, the focus is on participants with ASDs. The four journals with the most relevant articles were Autism, JADD, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP), and RASD. An online or paper copy of each of these
Results
Our initial search revealed a total of 1407 articles. Of them, 684 articles met our criteria for inclusion. Autism, JADD, JCPP, and RASD were the sources of 62, 277, 26, and 242 articles, respectively. Findings were similar across years and across journals, therefore, only summary data are reported. Seventy-seven, or 11.26%, of the 684 articles failed to report the gender of the participants and were not included in the data analysis. Of the 607 included articles, 82.21% included both male and
Discussion
Edwards et al. (2012) reported that 85.8% of the 1644 people with ASD who participated in recent intervention studies published in Autism, Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities, JADD, and RASD were male. This value represent a male:female ratio of 6:1, which is substantially higher than the mean value of 4.3 obtained by Fombonne (2003) when the results of 29 epidemiological studies were combined and the 4.6 value evident in 2008 data reported by the 14 sites comprised by the
References (11)
- et al.
Intervention research to benefit people with autism: How old are the participants?
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
(2012) New directions in the study of gender similarities and differences
Current Directions in Psychological Sciences
(2007)- et al.
Review of gender differences in core symptomatology in autism spectrum disorders
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
(2011) What is autism?
(2013)Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 sites, United States, 2008
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(2012)
Cited by (40)
Quantitative and Qualitative Sex Modulations in the Brain Anatomy of Autism
2021, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and NeuroimagingInclusion of racially and ethnically diverse populations in ASD intervention research
2020, Research in Autism Spectrum DisordersCitation Excerpt :Furthermore, our study highlights a disparity in participation by sex in ASD intervention research which is slightly higher (6:1) than current ASD prevalence ratios (Baio et al., 2018). This aligns with previous findings indicating males with ASD are overrepresented in ASD intervention research (Watkins, Zimmermann, & Poling, 2014). Although information pertaining to intervention type was collected, interpretations of this data are limited and outside the scope of this review given we did not collect information regarding the suitability of the intervention given participant characteristics.
Research Review: A systematic review and meta-analysis of sex differences in narrow constructs of restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests in autistic children, adolescents, and adults
2024, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied DisciplinesPeer Interactions of School-Aged Girls on the Autism Spectrum: A Scoping Review
2023, Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education