ArticlePloS one2014
Attenuation of typical sex differences in 800 adults with autism vs. 3,900 controls.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Does the Extreme Male Brain Hypothesis of Autism Apply More to Females Than Males? A Systematic and Meta-Analytic Approach.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Pooled it
- Is There a Bias Towards Males in the Diagnosis of Autism? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gender Dysphoria/Incongruence. A systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Patterns of Nonsocial and Social Cognitive Functioning in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Self-reported sex differences in high-functioning adults with autism: a meta-analysis.Molecular autism · 2018Pooled it
- Sexuality in High-Functioning Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2016Pooled it
- Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient to Measure Autistic Traits in Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2016Pooled it
- The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test: Complete Absence of Typical Sex Difference in ~400 Men and Women with Autism.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Sex Differences in Psychopathology and Neurocognition in Community Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- The inactive X chromosome as a female protector in autism and beyond.Nature genetics · 2026Review
- Emotional Contagion and Autistic Traits: Disentangling Components of Social-Emotional Processing.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Time trends in the male to female ratio for autism incidence: population based, prospectively collected, birth cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Article
- The Moderating Effect of Sex on Autistic Trait Emotional Intelligence, Alexithymia, and Empathy.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Autistic Adults Avoid Unpredictability in Decision-Making.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Differences in ongoing thought between autistic and non-autistic adults.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Comparison of network structures between autistic and non-autistic adults, and autism subgroups: A focus on demographic, psychological, and lifestyle factors.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2024Article
- Measuring the Autistic Women's Experience (AWE).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Validation of the English version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in an English-speaking Singaporean sample.PloS one · 2023Article
- Evidence of partner similarity for autistic traits, systemizing, and theory of mind via facial expressions.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Autistic Traits, Empathizing-Systemizing, and Gender Diversity.Archives of sexual behavior · 2022Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Sex differences have been reported in autistic traits and systemizing (male advantage), and empathizing (female advantage) among typically developing individuals. In individuals with autism, these cognitive-behavioural profiles correspond to predictions from the "extreme male brain" (EMB) theory of autism (extreme scores on autistic traits and systemizing, below average on empathizing). Sex differences within autism, however, have been under-investigated. Here we show in 811 adults (454 females) with autism and 3,906 age-matched typical control adults (2,562 females) who completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R), and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), that typical females on average scored higher on the EQ, typical males scored higher on the SQ-R and AQ, and both males and females with autism showed a shift toward the extreme of the "male profile" on these measures and in the distribution of "brain types" (the discrepancy between standardized EQ and SQ-R scores). Further, normative sex differences are attenuated but not abolished in adults with autism. The findings provide strong support for the EMB theory of autism, and highlight differences between males and females with autism.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.