ArticleEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2016
Adolescent boys with autism spectrum disorder growing up: follow-up of self-reported sexual experience.
Article in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of sexual health, knowledge, and behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Among Youth With Autism and ADHD: A Population-Based Study From Sweden.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Brain Nuclei in the Regulation of Sexual Behavior, Peripheral Nerves Related to Reproduction, and Their Alterations in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Brief Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Sexual Affectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Bibliometric Profile of Scientific Production.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Sexual Knowledge, Experiences, and Pragmatic Language in Adults With and Without Autism: Implications for Sex Education.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2023Article
- Affectivity and Sexuality in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder from the Perspective of Education and Healthcare Professionals: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Neurodiversity and Psychosexual Functioning in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2023Review
- Sex and Sexuality in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Scoping Review on a Neglected but Fundamental Issue.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Review
- Sexual Knowledge, Desires, and Experience of Adolescents and Young Adults With an Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Autism and Adult Sex Education: A Literature Review using the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Framework.Sexuality and disability · 2019Article
- Sexual Dysfunctions and Their Association with the Dual Control Model of Sexual Response in Men and Women with High-Functioning Autism.Journal of clinical medicine · 2019Article
- Sexuality in autism: hypersexual and paraphilic behavior in women and men with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2017Article
- Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Systematic research on sexual development in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains scant, notwithstanding the often-suggested relation between ASD, atypical, and even sexually offensive behaviours. This study compared follow-up data related to lifetime sexual experience (LTSE) in a homogeneous group of adolescent boys with ASD (n = 30), aged 16-20, with a matched group of boys in the general population (n = 60). Most boys in the ASD and control groups reported masturbation and having experienced an orgasm. The proportion of boys with ASD that had no partnered sexual experience was larger than in the control group. This difference was mostly explained by significantly fewer boys with ASD, compared with controls, who reported experience with kissing and petting; no significant differences emerged relating to more intimate partnered sexual experiences. The results suggest the existence of a subgroup of boys who have not (yet) entered the arena of partnered sexual experiences-a finding in line with research in adult samples. There were no differences relating to sexual abuse or coercion. Exploration of the partnered experiences revealed a variety of types of partners, mostly of comparable age. Several boys with ASD had not anticipated their sexual debut. Although they felt ready for it, some boys reported regret afterward. The hypothesised sexual developmental trajectories are subject to further research, but the sexual experience in this sample and the assumed developmental differences indicate the need for early, attuned, and comprehensive sexuality-related education and communication.
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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.