Comparing Prevalence of Multiple Types of Sexual Victimization Among Individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

= 106), consisting of individuals who suspected they might have ASD but had never received a formal diagnosis. Logistic regressions controlling for gender, age, and sexual orientation revealed that ASD participants were significantly more likely than non-ASD participants to report noncontact and illegal SV, but not technology-facilitated or verbally pressured SV. Women were consistently at higher risk than men across all SV categories. Notably, individuals in the subclinical group reported SV prevalence rates comparable to those with formal diagnoses. Exploratory analyses using RAADS-14 scores suggested that sensory reactivity was consistently associated with SV experiences and was particularly strongly associated with noncontact SV. Together, these findings suggest that vulnerability to SV may extend beyond categorical diagnosis and be linked to specific neurodevelopmental traits, rather than diagnostic status alone. This underscores the importance of education efforts that address sensory-related vulnerabilities regardless of formal diagnostic status.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Journal of Sex Research
Published
2026-04-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2645037
Primary Topic
Disability Rights and Representation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Comparing Prevalence of Multiple Types of Sexual Victimization Among Individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Brianna M. Akers, Zoë D. Peterson
The Journal of Sex Research
Disability Rights and Representation
article

Comparing Prevalence of Multiple Types of Sexual Victimization Among Individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Brianna M. Akers, Zoë D. Peterson
article en

Abstract

= 106), consisting of individuals who suspected they might have ASD but had never received a formal diagnosis. Logistic regressions controlling for gender, age, and sexual orientation revealed that ASD participants were significantly more likely than non-ASD participants to report noncontact and illegal SV, but not technology-facilitated or verbally pressured SV. Women were consistently at higher risk than men across all SV categories. Notably, individuals in the subclinical group reported SV prevalence rates comparable to those with formal diagnoses. Exploratory analyses using RAADS-14 scores suggested that sensory reactivity was consistently associated with SV experiences and was particularly strongly associated with noncontact SV. Together, these findings suggest that vulnerability to SV may extend beyond categorical diagnosis and be linked to specific neurodevelopmental traits, rather than diagnostic status alone. This underscores the importance of education efforts that address sensory-related vulnerabilities regardless of formal diagnostic status.

The Journal of Sex Research
Indiana University Bloomington (US)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 29%
Disability Rights and Representation
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