Social first impressions and perceived gender in autistic and non-autistic youth
Date
2025-02-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Reports
Abstract
First impressions of autistic individuals are more negative than those of their non-autistic peers. There is also a higher prevalence of gender diversity among autistic than non-autistic individuals. No studies to date have investigated the impact of perceived gender on social first impressions of autistic and non-autistic individuals. In this study, adult participants (i.e., undergraduate students) watched sixty 7–10 s video clips of 15 non-autistic females, 15 non-autistic males, 15 autistic females, and 15 autistic males engaging in a “get-to-know-you” conversation (video of participant only). Adult participants provided social first impression ratings and perceptions of gender (femininity, masculinity, and other/neither) for each participant using slider bars. Results showed that autistic youth received lower social ratings than non-autistic youth, and that girls overall were rated more favorably than boys. However, for autistic girls there was a significant correlation between perceived gender and social first impressions that did not exist in the other three groups. Specifically, autistic girls who were perceived as less feminine and more other/neither were also rated lower on social first impressions. These novel findings highlight a double penalty for autistic girls who diverge from societal expectations about both gender and typical social behavior.
Description
This article was originally published in Scientific Reports. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89083-0.
© The Author(s) 2025.
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Keywords
autism, first impressions, social phenotype, sex differences, gender diversity
Citation
Baer, M., Cola, M., Knox, A. et al. Social first impressions and perceived gender in autistic and non-autistic youth. Sci Rep 15, 5240 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89083-0