Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Current prevalence rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations range between 4 and 13% (Thrower et al., 2020). Studies into autistic TGD individuals’ experiences with healthcare have primarily collected qualitative data, identifying themes including barriers to healthcare, invalidation of both autistic and TGD identities, difficulty finding competent providers, limited support and resources, and refusal of care (Cooper et al., 2022; Maroney & Horne, 2022; Hall et al., 2020). N = 3094 self-identified TGD adults completed the 2017 TransLifeline Mental Health Survey, a collaborative effort between the National LGBTQ Task Force and the TransLifeline, which investigated TGD access to and experience with mental health services. This online, cross-sectional survey was completed between June and October 2017. Chi-square analyses and Mann-Whitney U tests were utilized to examine the data and investigate relationships among the groups (i.e., autistic and non-autistic) and variables. Results indicated 19.4% of participants self-identified as autistic, which significantly differed from the Kristensen and Broome (2015) sample but did not differ from the Stagg and Vincent (2019) sample. Within the TransLifeline sample, autistic participants were found to be older, more likely to be assigned female at birth, more likely to identify as nonbinary, and have a greater number of mental health comorbidities than the non-autistic group. The autistic group endorsed significant negative experiences with mental health care professionals, which remained when controlling for age. Specifically, TGD autistic individuals reported avoiding coming out to a therapist due to fear of mistreatment or discrimination, having to educate a therapist on TGD issues, and experiencing greater proportions of discrimination than non-autistic TGD folks. Further, autistic participants reported more difficulty in finding an adequate therapist and were less likely to find their therapist knowledgeable about issues TGD people face than the non-autistic group. Future research should continue to investigate experiences of autistic TGD individuals in large samples, using both qualitative and quantitative measures to inform provider trainings and create standards of care. Trainings and industry standards of care could help implement changes in mental health settings and to better serve this community.

Date

6-4-2025

Committee Chair

Tucker, Raymond

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