Association of autistic traits in adulthood with childhood abuse,interpersonal victimization,and posttraumatic stress |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, USA;2. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA;3. University of California, Davis, CA, USA;4. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA;5. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;6. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA;1. Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK;2. Centre for Innovation in Mental Health – Developmental Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK;3. Autism Diagnostic Research Centre, 9-19 Rose Road, Southampton, SO14 6TE, UK;1. National Centre for Psychotraumatology, Institute for Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark;2. School of Psychology and Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK;3. International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany;1. Centre intersectoriel en santé durable, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les problèmes conjugaux et les agressions sexuelles, Department of Health Sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Canada;2. Groupe de recherche et d''interventions sur les adaptations sociales de l''enfance, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur les problèmes conjugaux et les agressions sexuelles, Department of Psychoeducation, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada;3. Institut Universitaire Jeunes en Difficulté, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Canada;1. Center of Children Psychology and Behavior, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China;2. Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China;3. Beijing Academy of Education Sciences, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Persons with autistic traits may be at elevated risk for interpersonal victimization across the life course. Children with high levels of autistic traits may be targeted for abuse, and deficits in social awareness may increase risk of interpersonal victimization. Additionally, persons with autistic traits may be at elevated risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms subsequent to trauma. We examined retrospectively reported prevalence of childhood abuse, trauma victimization and PTSD symptoms by autistic traits among adult women in a population-based longitudinal cohort, the Nurses’ Health Study II (N = 1,077). Autistic traits were measured by the 65-item Social Responsiveness Scale. We estimated odds ratios (OR) for childhood sexual and physical/emotional abuse and PTSD symptoms by quintiles of autistic traits. We examined possible mediation of PTSD risk by abuse and trauma type. Women in the highest versus lowest quintile of autistic traits were more likely to have been sexually abused (40.1% versus 26.7%), physically/emotionally abused (23.9% versus 14.3%), mugged (17.1% versus 10.1%), pressured into sexual contact (25.4% versus 15.6%) and have high PTSD symptoms (10.7% versus 4.5%). Odds of PTSD were elevated in women in the top three quintiles of autistic traits compared with the reference group (OR range = 1.4 to 1.9). Childhood abuse exposure partly accounted for elevated risk of PTSD in women with autistic traits. We identify for the first time an association between autistic traits, childhood abuse, trauma victimization, and PTSD. Levels of autistic traits that are highly prevalent in the general population are associated with abuse, trauma and PTSD. |
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| Keywords: | Child physical abuse Child sexual abuse Autistic traits Broad autism spectrum Posttraumatic stress disorder Violence victimization |
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