Bullying, minority stress and revenge impulse among autistic college students: group differences by sexual and gender minority status

This study examines how bullying experiences are associated with retaliatory impulses among autistic university students, highlighting minority stress as a key mediating mechanism and sexual and gender minority (SGM) status as a moderating condition within an intersectional framework. Guided by Minority Stress Theory and Social Information Processing Theory, we surveyed 280 autistic undergraduates; 35% identified as SGM. Participants completed validated measures of bullying, minority stress, retaliatory impulse, and related psychosocial factors. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analyses were conducted to evaluate the proposed mediation and moderation patterns while adjusting for gender, grade level, social support, autistic traits, and internet use. The measurement model showed good reliability and convergent validity (Cronbach's <i>α</i> = 0.84-0.89; AVE = 0.62-0.69). Bullying was positively associated with minority stress, which was in turn associated with retaliatory impulses, supporting partial mediation [indirect effect = 0.42, 95% CI (0.36, 0.50)]. Multi-group results indicated stronger path coefficients in the SGM group (bullying → stress <i>β</i> = 0.72; stress → retaliation <i>β</i> = 0.66) than among non-SGM (heterosexual and cisgender) peers, consistent with the possibility that compounded stigma heightens emotional reactivity and defensive processing. Minority stress remained the strongest correlate of retaliatory impulses after covariate adjustment, whereas social support showed a protective association. Taken together, the findings suggest that retaliatory impulses among autistic students are better understood in relation to sustained identity-based exclusion and structural stressors rather than as simple dispositional aggression. The results also imply that effective prevention may require institutional and relational strategies-alongside individual support-such as inclusive curricula, peer sensitization, and policies that strengthen belonging and psychological safety in higher education.