No relationship between prenatal or early postnatal androgen exposure and autistic traits: evidence using anogenital distance and penile length measurements at birth and 3 months of age.

BACKGROUND: Autism is more prevalent in males than in females. Hypotheses related to the extreme male brain theory of autism suggest that heightened androgen exposure during early development contributes to autistic traits. Whilst prior research focused mostly on the prenatal period, the current study tests the influences of androgen exposure during both the prenatal and the early postnatal periods on autistic traits during childhood. METHODS: Anthropometric measures that are putative biomarkers of early androgen exposure were employed. Anogenital distance (AGD) was measured at birth and 3 months of age in boys and girls. Penile length at birth and 3 months of age was also measured in boys. When the children were 9-13 years old, a parent-reported questionnaire (the 10-item children's version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient; AQ-10 Child) was used to assess autistic traits in 97 boys and 110 girls. RESULTS: There were no significant associations between any of the AGD or penile length measures and scores on the AQ-10 Child in boys, girls or the entire sample. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides the first test of whether early measurements of AGD and/or penile length predict subsequent autistic traits. The current findings do not support a relationship between prenatal or early postnatal androgen exposure and autistic traits. The current study augments prior research showing no consistent relationship between early androgen exposure and autistic traits.

Preschool Gender-Typed Play Behavior Predicts Adolescent Gender-Typed Occupational Interests: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study.

There are significant gender differences in both play behavior and occupational interests. Play has been regarded as an important medium for development of skills and personal characteristics. Play may also influence subsequent preferences through social and cognitive processes involved in gender development. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and gender-typed occupational interests in early adolescence. Participants were drawn from a British longitudinal population study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Participants were recruited based on their parent-reported gender-typed play behavior assessed at age 3.5 years. There were 66 masculine boys and 61 masculine girls, 82 feminine boys and 69 feminine girls, and 55 randomly selected control boys and 67 randomly selected control girls. At age 13 years, the participants were administered a questionnaire assessing their interest in gender-typed occupations. It was found that masculine children showed significantly more interest in male-typical occupations than did control or feminine children. Compared with control children, feminine children had marginally significantly lower interest in male-typical jobs. Masculine children also had significantly lower interest in female-typical jobs than did control or feminine children. The associations were not moderated by gender and were observed after taking into account sociodemographic background, parental occupations, and academic performance. The degree of gender-typed play shown by preschoolers can predict their occupational interests 10 years later following transition into adolescence. Childhood gender-typed play has occupational implications that transcend developmental stages.

Preschool Gender-Typed Play Behavior at Age 3.5 Years Predicts Physical Aggression at Age 13 Years.

Gender differences in play behavior and physical aggression have been consistently reported. Theoretical perspectives concerning evolutionary, social, and social-cognitive mechanisms suggest that male-typical play behavior during childhood increases subsequent physical aggression. The evidence supporting these connections is limited, however. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and physical aggression in early adolescence using a sample drawn from a longitudinal, population study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Based on gender-typed play behavior as measured by the Pre-School Activities Inventory at age 3.5 years, samples of masculine (64 boys, 60 girls), feminine (80 boys, 66 girls), and randomly selected control children (55 boys, 67 girls) were recruited at age 13 years and administered the Reinisch Aggression Inventory. After controlling for a range of sociodemographic variables, maternal characteristics, and behavioral problems, including hyperactivity and conduct problems at age 3.5, significant group differences in physical aggression at age 13 were found among children classified as masculine, control, and feminine at age 3.5. Masculine children exhibited significantly more physical aggression than control children or feminine children, and control children exhibited significantly more physical aggression than feminine children. The association between gender-typed play behavior and physical aggression was not moderated by sex. These results suggest that the degree of childhood gender-typed play behavior independently predicts the degree of physical aggression at adolescence in boys and in girls.

No relationship between prenatal androgen exposure and autistic traits: convergent evidence from studies of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and of amniotic testosterone concentrations in typically developing children.

BACKGROUND: There is a marked male preponderance in autism spectrum conditions. The extreme male brain theory and the fetal androgen theory of autism suggest that elevated prenatal testosterone exposure is a key contributor to autistic traits. The current paper reports findings from two separate studies that test this hypothesis. METHODS: A parent-report questionnaire, the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST), was employed to measure autistic traits in both studies. The first study examined autistic traits in young children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a condition causing unusually high concentrations of testosterone prenatally in girls. Eighty one children with CAH (43 girls) and 72 unaffected relatives (41 girls), aged 4-11 years, were assessed. The second study examined autistic traits in relation to amniotic testosterone in 92 typically developing children (48 girls), aged 3-5 years. RESULTS: Findings from neither study supported the association between prenatal androgen (testosterone) exposure and autistic traits. Specifically, young girls with and without CAH did not differ significantly in CAST scores and amniotic testosterone concentrations were not significantly associated with CAST scores in boys, girls, or the whole sample. CONCLUSIONS: These studies do not support a relationship between prenatal testosterone exposure and autistic traits. These findings augment prior research suggesting no consistent relationship between early androgen exposure and autistic traits.

Autistic Traits, Gender Minority Stress, and Mental Health in Transgender and Non-Binary Adults.

The present study investigated the relation between autistic traits and gender minority stress and the relative importance of autistic traits and gender minority stress in predicting mental health outcomes in gender minority adults. An online survey was completed by 90 transgender women, 72 transgender men, 48 non-binary individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB), and 98 non-binary individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB). Autistic traits positively correlated with internalised transphobia in the non-binary groups. In general, higher autistic traits and gender minority stress correlated with poorer mental health outcomes. After controlling for gender minority stress, autistic traits accounted for additional variance of suicidality across gender minority groups, anxiety symptoms in the non-binary groups, and all mental health outcomes in non-binary AFAB.

Prenatal androgen exposure and sex-typical play behaviour: A meta-analysis of classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia studies.

Thousands of non-human mammal experiments have demonstrated that early androgen exposure exerts long-lasting effects on neurobehavioural sexual differentiation. In humans, females with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are exposed to unusually high concentrations of androgens prenatally, whereas prenatal concentrations of androgens in males with CAH are largely normal. The current meta-analysis included 20 independent samples and employed multi-level meta-analytic models. Consistently across all 7 male-typical and female-typical play outcomes, in the expected directions, the present study found significant and large average differences between control males and control females (gs = 0.83-2.78) as well as between females with CAH and control females (gs = 0.95-1.08), but differences between males with CAH and control males were mostly negligible and were non-significant for 6 of the 7 outcomes (gs = 0.04-0.27). These meta-analytic findings suggest that prenatal androgen exposure masculinises and defeminises play behaviour in humans. Broader implications in relation to sex chromosomes, brain development, oestrogens, socio-cognitive influences, other aspects of sex-related behavioural development, and gender nonconformity are discussed.

Recalled Childhood Gender-Related Play Behaviour and Current Gender-Related Occupational Interests in University Students: Examining the Mediating Roles of Gender Compatibility, Goal Endorsement, and Occupational Stereotype Flexibility.

Substantial average gender differences in childhood play behaviour and occupational interests have been well-documented. Recent research shows that childhood gender-related play behaviour longitudinally predicts gender-related occupational interests in adolescence (Kung, 2021). The first aim of the present study was to extend this recent finding by examining whether university students' recalled childhood gender-related play behaviour predicts their current gender-related occupational interests. The second aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender-related socio-cognitive processes mediate the relation between childhood play behaviour and subsequent occupational interests. University students (260 men, 542 women) completed scales assessing recalled childhood gender-related play behaviour, gender-related occupational interests, gender typicality, gender contentedness, agentic goal endorsement, communal goal endorsement, and gender-related occupational stereotype flexibility. In the present study, recalled childhood gender-related play behaviour predicted gender-related occupational interests in both men and women. In men, gender typicality and gender contentedness mediated the play-interests link. In women, gender typicality and communal goal endorsement mediated the play-interests link. The present study provides further evidence that childhood gender-related play behaviour is related to subsequent gender-related occupational interests. Although the current study has a correlational design, one interpretation of the current findings is that childhood play may influence socio-cognitive processes, such as gender compatibility and goal endorsement, which may in turn shape occupational interests.

Autistic traits, systemising, empathising, and theory of mind in transgender and non-binary adults.

BACKGROUND: Prior research examining autistic traits in gender minority adults has reported mixed findings. Most prior studies did not include non-binary individuals. Little is known about the mechanisms shaping autistic traits in gender minority adults. This study examined autistic traits, as well as constructs related to the extreme male brain theory of autism and the mindblindness theory, in transgender and non-binary adults. METHODS: An online survey was conducted to assess autism-related traits in 323 gender minority adults, including 74 transgender men (individuals assigned female at birth and identify as a man), 95 transgender women (individuals assigned male at birth and identify as a woman), 104 non-binary AFAB (individuals assigned female at birth and identify as non-binary), and 50 non-binary AMAB (individuals assigned male at birth and identify as non-binary). Autistic traits, systemising, empathising, and Theory of Mind (ToM) were measured using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the short forms of the Systemising Quotient (SQ-Short) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short), the 10-item version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-10) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Eyes Test). Participants' scores on these measures were compared with previously published scores based on large-scale general population samples including thousands of participants. RESULTS: On average, compared with control females in the general population samples, both transgender men and non-binary AFAB scored significantly higher on the AQ and the SQ-Short but scored significantly lower on the EQ-Short, the EQ-10, and the Eyes Test. No clear or consistent group differences emerged when transgender women and non-binary AMAB were compared with control males. LIMITATIONS: The present study does not have a large sample of gender minority adults. It has been argued that the measures employed may not provide a precise assessment of the psychological constructs of interest. The present study has a "non-clinical" sample. However, not all gender minorities have access to or require clinical services, and so a "non-clinical" sample may be more representative of the gender minority community as a whole than samples recruited through clinics. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest a "masculinised" autism-related profile and reduced ToM in transgender men and in non-binary AFAB. These findings might be interpreted to support the extreme male brain theory of autism and the mindblindness theory. Further research is needed to corroborate these findings.

Emotional and behavioral adjustment in 4 to 11-year-old boys and girls with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia and unaffected siblings.

It has been suggested that atypical hormone environments during early development may contribute to subsequent development of psychopathology. Also, it has been suggested that individuals with the autosomal recessive genetic variant, classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), might be at increased risk of psychopathology. The present study examined emotional and behavioral adjustment in young children with CAH and their unaffected siblings in the United Kingdom. The parent-reported version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was employed to assess adjustment in children aged 4 to 11 years. There were 38 boys with CAH, 43 girls with CAH, 23 unaffected brothers, and 31 unaffected sisters. No differences in emotional or behavioral problems were found between boys or girls with CAH and unaffected same-sex siblings. In addition, affected and unaffected boys in the current sample generally did not differ from boys in the general population. However, compared with girls in the general population, girls with CAH had more difficulties related to conduct problems, hyperactivity/ inattention, and prosocial behavior, and unaffected sisters had more difficulties related to peer problems, conduct problems, and prosocial behavior. These findings suggest that both girls with CAH and unaffected sisters of girls or boys with CAH may be at increased risk of developing behavioral problems. Potential influences related to the early hormone environment, familial process, and social stigma are considered.

Childhood gender-typed behavior and adolescent sexual orientation: A longitudinal population-based study.

Lesbian and gay individuals have been reported to show more interest in other-sex, and/or less interest in same-sex, toys, playmates, and activities in childhood than heterosexual counterparts. Yet, most of the relevant evidence comes from retrospective studies or from prospective studies of clinically referred, extremely gender nonconforming children. In addition, findings are mixed regarding the relation between childhood gender-typed behavior and the later sexual orientation spectrum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively lesbian/gay. The current study drew a sample (2,428 girls and 2,169 boys) from a population-based longitudinal study, and found that the levels of gender-typed behavior at ages 3.5 and 4.75 years, although less so at age 2.5 years, significantly and consistently predicted adolescents' sexual orientation at age 15 years, both when sexual orientation was conceptualized as 2 groups or as a spectrum. In addition, within-individual change in gender-typed behavior during the preschool years significantly related to adolescent sexual orientation, especially in boys. These results suggest that the factors contributing to the link between childhood gender-typed behavior and sexual orientation emerge during early development. Some of those factors are likely to be nonsocial, because nonheterosexual individuals appear to diverge from gender norms regardless of social encouragement to conform to gender roles. (PsycINFO Database Record

Early postnatal testosterone predicts sex-related differences in early expressive vocabulary.

During the first few years of life, girls typically have a larger expressive vocabulary than boys. This sex difference is important since a small vocabulary may predict subsequent language difficulties, which are more prevalent in boys than girls. The masculinizing effects of early androgen exposure on neurobehavioral development are well-documented in nonhuman mammals. The present study conducted the first test of whether early postnatal testosterone concentrations influence sex differences in expressive vocabulary in toddlers. It was found that testosterone measured in saliva samples collected at 1-3 months of age, i.e., during the period called mini-puberty, negatively predicted parent-report expressive vocabulary size at 18-30 months of age in boys and in girls. Testosterone concentrations during mini-puberty also accounted for additional variance in expressive vocabulary after other predictors such as sex, child's age at vocabulary assessment, and paternal education, were taken into account. Furthermore, testosterone concentrations during mini-puberty mediated the sex difference in expressive vocabulary. These results suggest that testosterone during the early postnatal period contributes to early language development and neurobehavioral sexual differentiation in humans.

No relationship between early postnatal testosterone concentrations and autistic traits in 18 to 30-month-old children.

BACKGROUND: Some previous research has suggested that testosterone prenatally contributes to gender differences in autistic traits, but little is known about the role of testosterone during early postnatal development (mini-puberty). Two prior studies found no sex difference in testosterone postnatally in saliva samples and detected little to no relationship between testosterone postnatally and autistic traits in toddlers. These findings may reflect late measurements of testosterone at 3 to 4 months of age, after the peak of mini-puberty at 1 to 3 months of age. The present study examined the relationship between testosterone at 1 to 3 months of age and autistic traits at 18 to 30 months of age. FINDINGS: Testosterone was measured in saliva samples collected from children at 1 to 3 months of age. When the children (40 boys, 47 girls) reached 18 to 30 months of age, parents completed the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT). Boys had higher concentrations of testosterone postnatally and higher Q-CHAT scores than girls. However, testosterone did not correlate with Q-CHAT scores in boys, girls, or the entire sample. CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggest that testosterone during the early postnatal period does not contribute to later autistic traits. Given our relatively small samples and therefore limited power, however, further research could usefully examine if testosterone in saliva samples collected during the peak of mini-puberty in larger groups predicts autistic traits or other traits that show gender differences.