A critical overview of how English health and social care publications represent autistic adults’ intimate lives

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Huysamen, M., Kourti, M., & Hatton, C. (2022). A critical overview of how English health and social care publications represent autistic adults’ intimate lives. Critical Social Policy, 43(4), 626-653. https://doi.org/10.1177/02610183221142216

Publication date: 18 Dec 2022 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Monique Huysamen
  2. Marianthi Kourti *
  3. Chris Hatton

Abstract

Autistic people face more social barriers to, and experience greater anxiety around, intimate relationships than the general population in our majority neurotypical society, leading to increased loneliness and social isolation. National health and social care policies and publications should recognise these inequalities and guide service systems in reducing them. In this paper, we employ a document analysis design to analyse a cross-section of English national health and social care publications to investigate how autistic adults’ intimate lives are represented and prioritised in these publications. Most publications do not adequately and proportionally recognise or prioritise autistic people's intimate lives. They focus on the risks associated with sex and relationships and overlook autism-specific intimacy needs. They prioritise participation in the workforce while renouncing government responsibility for supporting intimate relationships which can reduce loneliness and alienation. We offer recommendations to ensure that health and social care publication processes better recognise intimate lives.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Bibliography inclusion overview

These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:30.

Cited references
44
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
4 / 44 (9.1%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
4 / 104 (3.8%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 4 / 33 (12.1%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 4 / 95 (4.2%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
33 / 104 (31.7%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 28 / 95 (29.5%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
29 / 33 (87.9%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 29 / 104 (27.9%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 24 / 28 (85.7%).
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