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Brief Report: Female-To-Male Transsexual People and Autistic Traits

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Abstract

The ‘extreme male brain’ theory suggests females with Autism Spectrum Conditions are hyper-masculinized in certain aspects of behavior. We predicted that females with Gender Identity Disorder (who are masculinized) would have elevated Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores. AQ scores from five groups were compared: (1) n = 61 transmen (female-to-male transsexual people); (2) n = 198 transwomen (male-to-female transsexual people); (3) n = 76 typical males; (4) n = 98 typical females; and (5) n = 125 individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Transmen had a higher mean AQ than typical females, typical males and transwomen, but lower than individuals with AS. Transmen have more autistic traits and may have had difficulty socializing with female peers and thus found it easier to identify with male peer groups.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the MRC (UK), the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, and the Gates Cambridge Trust for funding during the period of this work. RJ presented this work at the IMFAR Conference, London, May 2008. We are grateful to Melissa Hines, Rebecca Knickmeyer, Bonnie Auyeung, Emma Chapman, and Vivette Glover for valuable discussions; and to the participants who kindly helped us with this project.

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Author notes

  1. Rebecca M. Jones

    Present address: Department of Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1300 York Avenue, Box 140, New York, NY, 10065, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Autism Research Centre, Psychiatry Department, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK

    Rebecca M. Jones, Sally Wheelwright & Simon Baron-Cohen

  2. Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK

    Krista Farrell

  3. Gender Identity Support and Research Division, Lima House Group, Little Downham, UK

    Emma Martin

  4. Imperial College, London, UK

    Richard Green

  5. Gender Identity Development Service, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Domenico Di Ceglie

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  1. Rebecca M. Jones
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Correspondence to Rebecca M. Jones.

Additional information

The research protocol was approved by the Cambridge University Psychology Research Ethics Committee. This work was conducted in association with the NIHR CLAHRC for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

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Jones, R.M., Wheelwright, S., Farrell, K. et al. Brief Report: Female-To-Male Transsexual People and Autistic Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 301–306 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1227-8

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