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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Developmental Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1472646
This article is part of the Research Topic Innovative and Cutting-edge Approaches to the Identification and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders View all 6 articles

A preliminary study on the relationship between symptom severity and age of diagnosis in females versus males with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)

Provisionally accepted
Alberto Sánchez-Pedroche Alberto Sánchez-Pedroche 1*Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla 1Mario Valera-Pozo Mario Valera-Pozo 1Daniel Adrover-Roig Daniel Adrover-Roig 1Magdalena Valverde-Gómez Magdalena Valverde-Gómez 2
  • 1 Department of Applied Pedagogy and Psychology of Education, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
  • 2 Hospital Can Misses, Ibiza Town, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In the latest Autism observation, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is more frequently diagnosed in males than in females. Efforts have been made in recent years to detect specific clinical patterns in females, improving their detection and diagnosis. Despite advancements, there are still challenges in detecting ASD in females. This preliminary study explores whether the age at the time of diagnosis of ASD in females is related to a higher severity index compared to male participants. A total of 202 participants (52 females; M = 5.51) in Spain underwent ADOS-2 assessment for ASD clinical severity. The results indicate a significant inverse association between the severity index and the age of diagnosis, which was independent of sex. Despite this, the present results revealed that the age at diagnosis was higher in females compared to males. Further analyses also revealed a tendency towards higher severity levels in females. Factors contributing to this difference in the age of diagnosis of ASD between females and males are discussed concerning the presumed differential characteristics of ASD in females.

    Keywords: ASD, Female gender, diagnosis, Severity index, child and adolescent, sex differences

    Received: 29 Jul 2024; Accepted: 24 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Sánchez-Pedroche, Aguilar-Mediavilla, Valera-Pozo, Adrover-Roig and Valverde-Gómez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alberto Sánchez-Pedroche, Department of Applied Pedagogy and Psychology of Education, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

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