Childhood Gender Variance and the Autism Spectrum: Evidence of an Association Using a Child Behavior Checklist 10-Item Autism Screener.

This study looked at whether children who show gender variance (behaving differently from typical gender expectations) are more likely to have autism traits. Researchers studied 1,719 children aged 6-12 from the general community and found that children with higher gender variance scored higher on an autism screening tool. This connection remained even when accounting for other behavioral and emotional challenges. The findings suggest there may be a link between gender variance and autism traits in the broader population, not just in children already receiving clinical care.

This community-based study examined the relationship between childhood gender variance and autism spectrum traits in 1,719 children aged 6-12 years. Researchers used a 10-item autism screener derived from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children to measure gender variance. Results showed a significant association between higher gender variance and increased autism screening scores, even when controlling for other emotional and behavioral challenges. The study demonstrates that the CBCL autism screener can effectively investigate gender variance-autism links in non-clinical populations, potentially enabling broader research using existing datasets where both measures are available.

Clinicians should consider autism screening for children presenting with gender variance. The CBCL autism screener offers an accessible tool for identifying potential autism traits in diverse settings. Results support integrated assessment approaches that consider both gender identity and neurodevelopmental factors in clinical evaluations.

Study used screening measures rather than diagnostic assessments. Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. Community sample may not represent clinical populations. The study does not specify response rates or potential selection bias. Longitudinal follow-up needed to understand developmental trajectories.

Childhood gender variance (GV) is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis/traits; however, this association has mainly been investigated in clinical samples. An ASD screening measure based on 10 items from the commonly used Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) might enable investigation of this association in a wider variety of (non-clinical) populations where the CBCL and a measure of GV are available. We investigated whether GV in 6- to 12-year-olds ( = 1719; 48.8% assigned male at birth) from a community sample showed an association with the CBCL 10-item ASD screener. The Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children measured GV.

The CBCL 10-item ASD screener measured ASD traits. The remaining CBCL items provided a measure of children's general emotional and behavioral challenges. Higher GV was associated with higher CBCL ASD screener scores, including when controlling for the remaining CBCL items. The CBCL 10-item ASD screener can be useful for investigating the link between GV and ASD traits in 6- to 12-year-olds.

Given that the CBCL is commonly employed, secondary analyses of existing datasets that also included a measure of GV could enable investigation of how widely the association between GV and ASD applies across a variety of populations.