ArticlePloS one2023
Autism, thy name is man: Exploring implicit and explicit gender bias in autism perceptions.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Autism, menstruation and mental health- a scoping review and a call to action.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Pooled it
- Experiences of females on the autism spectrum through the perspective of minority stress theory: a review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Taking Off the Mask: Investigating Autism Diagnosis and Camouflaging in Adult Women.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- "Only Boys Can be Autistic": A Qualitative Exploration of Gender Stereotype and Socialization on the Diagnostic Journey.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Prenatal exposure to extreme heat and autism in children.The Science of the total environment · 2026Article
- Atypical modulation of electrodermal reactivity during exposure to graded unisensory and multisensory stimuli in autistic children and adolescents.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Underdiagnosed and Misunderstood: Clinical Challenges and Educational Needs of Healthcare Professionals in Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder in Women.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Diagnostic challenges of autism spectrum disorder in women without intellectual or language impairments: a narrative review.Journal of medicine and life · 2025Review
- Mental Health as a Key Mediator for Outcomes in Postsecondary Education, Employment, and Everyday Living in Autistic Adults.Autism in adulthood · 2025Article
- A Path Out: Using Video Games to Reduce Prejudice Towards Refugees.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Social first impressions and perceived gender in autistic and non-autistic youth.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sex differences in the prevalence of common comorbidities in autism: a narrative review.Ewha medical journal · 2025Review
- A preliminary study on the relationship between symptom severity and age of diagnosis in females versus males with autistic spectrum disorder.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Examining the mental health symptoms of neurodivergent individuals across demographic and identity factors: a quantitative analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Dietary interventions in autism: a critical appraisal and commentary on the findings of a systematic review.British journal of neuroscience nursing · 2024Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Males are around three times more likely to possess an autism diagnosis than females. For years this was explained by accounts that considered the male gender more compatible with the autistic phenotype. However, new research suggests that a lack of understanding and recognition of the female autistic phenotype, and a predisposition to associate males with autistic traits, could lead to structural inequalities that hinder the identification of autistic females. To explore how autism and gender are more widely perceived, the present study tested implicit and explicit associations between autism and binary gender using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the Autism Quotient (AQ) presented alongside a male or female vignette. A significant association was found on the IAT, identifying an implicit bias towards males and autistic traits. The vignette AQ pairing also revealed some specific items perceived as explicitly male traits, while only reverse-scored items were perceived as female. These findings suggest that current perceptions and even metrics of autism are skewed towards males, which may hinder the identification and understanding of the female autistic phenotype.
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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.