Measuring the Autistic Women’s Experience (AWE)

Yvonne Groen (), W. Miro Ebert, Francien M. Dittner, Anne Fleur Stapert, Daria Henning, Kirstin Greaves-Lord, R. C. D. (Lineke) Davids, Stynke Castelein, Simon Baron Cohen, Carrie Allison, Ingrid D. C. Van Balkom and Sigrid Piening
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Yvonne Groen: Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
W. Miro Ebert: Institute for Sport Sciences, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
Francien M. Dittner: Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Anne Fleur Stapert: Autism Team Northern-Netherlands, Jonx, Department of (Youth) Mental Health and Autism of Lentis Psychiatric Institute, 9728 JR Groningen, The Netherlands
Daria Henning: Lentis Psychiatric Institute, Outpatient Clinic for the Elderly, 9725 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Kirstin Greaves-Lord: Autism Team Northern-Netherlands, Jonx, Department of (Youth) Mental Health and Autism of Lentis Psychiatric Institute, 9728 JR Groningen, The Netherlands
R. C. D. (Lineke) Davids: Martini Hospital, Medical Psychology, 9728 NT Groningen, The Netherlands
Stynke Castelein: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Simon Baron Cohen: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
Carrie Allison: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK
Ingrid D. C. Van Balkom: Autism Team Northern-Netherlands, Jonx, Department of (Youth) Mental Health and Autism of Lentis Psychiatric Institute, 9728 JR Groningen, The Netherlands
Sigrid Piening: Autism Team Northern-Netherlands, Jonx, Department of (Youth) Mental Health and Autism of Lentis Psychiatric Institute, 9728 JR Groningen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 24, 1-25

Abstract: We developed a Dutch questionnaire called the Autistic Women’s Experience (AWE) and compared its psychometric properties to the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Whilst attenuated gender differences on the AQ have been widely replicated, this instrument may not fully capture the unique experience of autistic women. The AWE was co-developed with autistic women to include items that reflect autistic women’s experience. We investigated the AWE (49 items) and compared it with the AQ (50 items) in Dutch autistic individuals ( N = 153, n = 85 women) and in the general population ( N = 489, n = 246 women) aged 16+. Both the AQ and AWE had excellent internal consistency and were highly and equally predictive of autism in both women and men. Whilst there was a gender difference on the AQ among non-autistic people (men > women), there was no gender difference among autistic people, confirming all earlier studies. No gender differences were detected on the AWE overall scale, yet subtle gender differences were observed on the subscales. We conclude that the AQ is valid for both genders, but the AWE provides an additional useful perspective on the characteristics of autistic women. The AWE needs further validation in independent samples using techniques that allow for testing gender biases, as well as a confirmatory factor analysis in a larger sample.

Keywords: autism; screening; factor analysis; female; sensory sensitivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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