Autistic traits, emotional recognition and empathy in adolescents with gender dysphoria

Abstract

Objective: Gender dysphoria (GD) is defined as an apparent incongruence between the sex assigned at birth and the experienced gender. The aim of this study is to evaluate the basic milestones of autistic symptoms in adolescents diagnosed with GD and to compare them with the control group. Method: The Sociodemographic Information Form, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and DANVA (Non-Verbal Diagnostic Accuracy Test), the Ka-Si Empathy Scale, and the Social Response Scale (SRS) were used. The psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results: A total of 36 adolescents, diagnosed with GD (n=17) and a control group (n=19), included to the study. The GD group and control group were similar in terms of mean age. Of the GD group, 29.4% had a CBCL total score, 35.3% had a CBCL internalization score and 11.8% had a CBCL externalization score above their respective cut-off points. The GD group had significantly higher scores in the SRS social subscale than the control group (t=2.227, p=0.033). SRS social score was found to be predicted by group and gender variables (df=3, F=5.064). Conclusion: Having male biological sex and having GD increased the SRS social subscale score. It was found that internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety were common in adolescents with GD and their social skills were impaired compared to the control group.