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An Explorative Study of Atypical Social Interaction Styles in Adult Men with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Men with Personality Disorders and Men from the General Population

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Abstract

Different atypical social interaction styles (SISs) were defined and tested in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Whether these styles can also be distinguished in adults with ASD has not yet been explored. In men with ASD, men with personality disorder (PD), and men from the general population (N = 90), aged 18–65 years, we tested which SISs can be distinguished and how they relate to the presence of PD traits. We found a significant distinction in allocation to atypical SISs between the three groups. This study shows the presence of atypical SISs in adults with ASD, and complements previous SIS findings in children and adolescents with ASD.

Trial registration The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR6391. Registered 04 May 2017.

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Notes

  1. In the autism community, there is a debate regarding using person-first language (i.e., a person with autism spectrum disorder) or identity-first language (an autistic person) going on. For this specific paper, we chose person-first language in order to be in line with the medical clinical setting where the research took place, but we acknowledge the different perspectives.

  2. There are several ways to describe and to define atypical social interaction styles (SISs). In this study, we specifically developed the definitions of the SISs for adults based on the SIS definitions of the Wing’s Subgrouping Scheme, the first known set of descriptions of SISs, developed by Wing and Gould (1979), and with an addition by Shah (1988).

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Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate the time and effort devoted by the participants to this study. The authors gratefully acknowledge the study psychologists Anne van der Aar, Nesrin Tatar, Kirsten Zwinkels and Ester van der Sluis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sarr Autism Rotterdam, Dynamostraat 18, 3083 AK, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Richard Vuijk

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, Sophia Children’s Hospital, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Pieter de Nijs

  3. University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15933, 1001 NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Arnoud Arntz & Hilde M. Geurts

  4. Dr. Leo Kanner Huis (Youz; Parnassia Psychiatric Institute), Derkinderenstraat 10-18, 1062 DB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Hilde M. Geurts

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  1. Richard Vuijk
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, and data collection was performed by RV. Data analyses were performed by RV and AA and checked by the rest of the authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RV and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Richard Vuijk.

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Ethical Approval

The study was carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki, 2000). Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the University of Amsterdam (Date: 04 April 2017/No.: 2017-CP-7839).

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Vuijk, R., de Nijs, P., Arntz, A. et al. An Explorative Study of Atypical Social Interaction Styles in Adult Men with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Men with Personality Disorders and Men from the General Population. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 2297–2305 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05521-2

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