Abstract
Adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, repetitive and stereotyped interests and behaviours as well as hyper- and/or hyposensitivities. These disorder specific symptoms could be associated with the development of sexual disorders. The Dual Control Model of Sexual Response presents one approach that is frequently used to explain the emergence of sexual dysfunctions. The aim of the present study was to assess the extent of symptoms of sexual dysfunctions in men and women with ASD and to evaluate their association with the individual propensity of sexual excitation and inhibition as defined by the Dual Control Model. Both men and women with ASD were more likely to report about sexual dysfunctions than individuals from the control group. In men with ASD, sexual inhibition was significantly correlated with the emergence of sexual dysfunctions, while there was no association between sexual functioning and sexual excitation. In women, the opposite pattern was found. Especially the peculiarities in sensitive perception could be responsible for the observed problems with sexual functioning in individuals with ASD. The present findings highlight the great need for specialized treatment programs addressing the frequently observed sexuality-related problems in individuals with ASD. However, up to now such treatment programs are lacking.
Highlights
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive and stereotyped interests and behaviours [1]
When comparing ASD women with ASD men it was found that more ASD women were currently in a relationship, more ASD women were satisfied with their current relationship and ASD women viewed themselves as more sexually attractive than ASD men
In line with previous research, significantly less ASD men and women were currently in a romantic relationship compared to the healthy controls (HCs) [37,38]
Summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive and stereotyped interests and behaviours [1]. Many stereotypes around individuals with ASD concerning sexuality related issues have arisen, such as, ASD individuals are seen as being only sparsely interested in sexual and romantic relationships or as being mainly asexual [9,10] Contrary to these stereotypes, in recent years a growing body of research has accumulated showing that most individuals with ASD report a general interest in solitary and dyadic sexual behaviours and show the full range of sexual behaviours, just like their clinically non-affected counterparts [11,12,13,14]. The deficits in intuitively understand social and nonverbal communication cues, difficulties in perspective-taking, inflexibility, affective dysregulation, repetitive and stereotyped interests and peculiarities in sensitive perception leading to either over- or underreactions to sensory stimuli can hamper the development of romantic and sexual relationships, can be associated with impaired sexual functioning and sometimes with the development of sexual disorders [15,16,17]
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