Intersections of Autism and Sexual and Gender Diversity Among Young People in New Zealand

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Fraser, B., Saha, S., Buchanan, M., Gibb, S., Monk, R., McLay, L., Campbell, P. J., Rogers, J., & Bowden, N. (2026). Intersections of Autism and Sexual and Gender Diversity Among Young People in New Zealand. Autism, 13623613261460933-13623613261460933. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261460933

Publication date: 8 Jul 2026 Added to AutiHub: 11 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 9 (11.1%)
  1. Brodie Fraser
  2. Sujata Saha
  3. Mary Buchanan
  4. Sheree Gibb
  5. Ruth Monk *
  1. Laurie McLay
  2. Phoebe Jean Campbell
  3. Jordan Rogers
  4. Nicholas Bowden

Abstract

International research suggests there is a common intersection between Autism and sexual and gender diversity. However, there is limited data estimating the whole-of-population prevalence of this association, both abroad and in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Utilising NZ's Integrated Data Infrastructure, a research database containing linked administrative and survey data, we conducted a nationwide cohort study of those in the age range 5-24 years for whom Census 2023 records existed. From a study population of 1,266,453 young people, 1.5% were identified as Autistic. After adjustment for demographic measures, we found significantly higher rates of Autism among sexually- and gender-diverse young people than among their heterosexual and cisgender peers. This included for those identifying with a gender outside of the male/female binary (3.9%) compared to both males (2.3%; 1.7 times as high) and females (0.7%; 5.8 times as high), transgender people (4.0%) compared to cisgender people (1.5%; 2.9 times as high), and non-heterosexuals (2.2%) compared to heterosexuals (1.4%; 1.8 times as high).Lay AbstractInternational research suggests there is a common overlap between Autism and sexual and gender diversity (such as people who are gay, lesbian, transgender, etc). However, there is little data about this association on a whole-of-population scale. We conducted a nationwide study of young people aged 5-24 years to explore this crossover. From a study population of 1,266,453 young people, 1.5% were identified as Autistic. Looking at sexual- and gender-diversity data, we found there were significantly higher proportion of people who were Autistic among sexually and gender-diverse young people compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers.

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Cited references
31
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
4 / 31 (12.9%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
5 / 291 (1.7%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 5 / 85 (5.9%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 5 / 252 (2.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
85 / 291 (29.2%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 59 / 252 (23.4%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
80 / 85 (94.1%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 80 / 291 (27.5%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 54 / 59 (91.5%).
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