People working in science and engineering jobs are more likely to have autistic-like traits than those in less technical professions, according to a nationwide experiment involving nearly half a million people – which also confirmed that men tend to be more autistic than women.
The experiment invited people to complete an online questionnaire scientifically designed to assess a person's autistic tendencies, with 50 statements such as “I am fascinated by numbers”, “new situations make me anxious” and “I find it hard to make new friends”.
The questionnaire, called the autistic spectrum quotient (AQ), was developed by scientists at Cambridge University led by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen as a way of quickly assessing where someone is likely to fall on the spectrum of traits associated with the childhood developmental condition.
Following a collaboration with Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic, more than 450,000 people from around the UK came forward to complete the questionnaire, and the results were assessed by Emily Ruzich, a PhD student at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre.
The findings, published in the online journal Plos One, showed that there was, as expected, no link between autistic traits and either geographical location in the UK or the age of the participants. However, there were significant associations with sex and occupation.
The higher the score, the further along the autistic spectrum someone fell. The average male AQ score was 21.6 compared with a score of 19 for females. People who worked in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (Stem) – jobs such as computing or accountancy – scored an average of 21.9 compared with non-Stem workers who scored 18.9 on average.
“Previous studies have found the number of autistic traits a person has is influenced by both genetic factors and prenatal testosterone levels,” said Professor Baron-Cohen.
“These may shed light on why we find males in the population on average have slightly more autistic traits than females do, and why fathers and grandfathers of children with autism are over-represented in Stem fields,” he said.
The Cambridge researchers believe that the findings support the idea that autistic traits are linked to both sex and to having a “systems-thinking mind”, which could explain why many people working in Silicon Valley and related hi-tech occupations tend to exhibit more autistic-like behaviour than the wider population.
Ruzich said: “I am pleased that such big data was available to test these questions. They provide clear evidence that autistic traits are sex-linked and Stem-linked and this will encourage further research into why theses associations are seen.”
Although AQ is scientifically designed to provide a rough estimate of how autistic someone is, it is not accurate enough to provide a full clinical diagnosis, said Dr Carrie Allison, a member of the Cambridge research team: “A high score alone is not a reason to seek help. It is only if the high number of autistic traits is causing stress and difficulties that a person may need a referral to a specialist clinic.”
AUTISM: THE TEST
Autism is measured using the autism spectrum quotient, or AQ. The Cambridge research centre notes that even people with high scores in its basic test have no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. Here are some sample statements from the test, in which people are asked if they strongly agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree or strongly disagree.
I prefer to do things the same way over and over again
I frequently get so tied up in one thing that I forget about others
I often notice small sounds when others do not
I usually notice car number plates or other strings of information
New situations make me anxious
I am fascinated by dates
I would rather go to a library than to a party
I tend to have very strong interests, which I get upset about if I can't pursue
I am fascinated by numbers
I like to plan carefully any activities I participate in
I find it hard to make new friends
I often find I don't know how to keep a conversation going
- The Independent