Self-Reported Interpersonal Violence Victimization in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: While significant research has been done on the experience of interpersonal violence victimization in adults, research in the area has lagged behind when considering adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). There are clear gaps in the literature pertaining to the occurrence of interpersonal violence victimization in the ASD population. The current study is the first to thoroughly explore experiences of interpersonal violence utilizing self-report in a sample of those with and without ASD.

Objectives: This study sought to explore the occurrence of reported victimization in childhood and in adulthood for adults with ASD and how they compare to reported victimization in adults without ASD. This study also sought to determine the correlations among social skills, emotion regulation processes, and poly-victimization.

Methods: Forty-five participants with ASD (Mean age = 30.4, SD = 1.5, Range 18-53) and 45 participants without ASD (Mean age = 31.8, SD = 1.3, Range 19-54) were recruited through community agencies and advertising in Ontario, Canada, and matched on gender, age and IQ. ASD diagnosis was confirmed with the completion of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (Lord et al, 2012). All individuals had IQ scores above 70, as verified by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II; Wechsler, 2003). Participants completed The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire- Adult Retrospective Questionnaire as a measure of childhood victimization and adult victimization (Hamby, Finkelhor, Ormrod, &Turner, 2004). Subscales include conventional crime, childhood maltreatment, peer/sibling victimization, and sexual victimization.  

Results: Preliminary results indicate that participants with ASD were 9.8 times more likely report being the victim of conventional crime in childhood (Fisher’s exact, p = .02), 3.5 times more likely to report experiencing childhood maltreatment (χ² (1) = 7.2, p < .01), and 8.1 times more likely to report peer victimization in childhood (Fisher’s exact, p = .06) compared to those without ASD. Adults with ASD were not more likely to report experiencing the various forms of victimization in adulthood. When examining the samples combined, reported emotion dysregulation was correlated with greater number of types of childhood maltreatment experienced (r = .38, p < .001), sexual victimization in childhood (r = .24, p < .05), and peer/sibling victimization in adulthood (r = .23, p < .05). Social skills deficits in adulthood were related to childhood maltreatment (r = .28, p < .01).

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that individuals with ASD report having experienced more conventional crime, childhood maltreatment, and peer/sibling victimization in childhood than those without ASD, but may not report more experiences of victimization in adulthood. Emotion regulation and social skills were found to be associated with reported victimization, which has implications for understanding reported difficulties and conceptualizing effective interventions for adults with ASD. Further results and implications of the data will be presented.