Table 3.

Relatively increased likelihood of reporting specific themes and subthemes related to substance use by autistic adults compared with non-autistic adults

	Autistic group, n (%)	Non-autistic group, n (%)	Odds ratio (95% CI)	p values
Frequency of reporting themes (429 autistic individuals, 490 non-autistic individuals)*
Atypical response	22 (5·13%)	4 (0·82%)	6·56 (2·20–26·38)	0·00027
Motivations for using	91 (21·21%)	47 (9·59%)	2·54 (1·71–3·79)	<0·0001
Motivations to stop use	58 (13·52%)	27 (5·51%)	2·68 (1·63–4·49)	0·00023
Non-negative experience	11 (2·56%)	6 (1·22%)	2·12 (0·71–7·05)	0·21
Usage information	427 (99·53%)	488 (99·59%)	0·88 (0·06–12·12)	1·00
Vulnerability	31 (6·99%)	9 (1·84%)	4·16 (1·90–10·05)	0·00027
Frequency of specific motivations for using (91 autistic individuals, 47 non-autistic individuals)†
Experimental interest	4 (4·40%)	2 (4·26%)	1·03 (0·14–11·85)	1·00
Social motivations	36 (39·56%)	31 (65·96%)	0·34 (0·15–0·75)	0·0095
Manage physical symptoms or health	39 (42·86%)	12 (25·53%)	2·18 (0·95–5·23)	0·097
Manage mental health symptoms	32 (35·16%)	7 (14·89%)	3·08 (1·18–9·08)	0·032
Manage behaviour	26 (28·57%)	2 (4·26%)	8·89 (2·05–81·12)	0·0017
Frequency of specific motivations to stop use (58 autistic individuals, 27 non-autistic individuals)†
Negative consequences	25 (43·10%)	12 (44·44%)	0·95 (0·34–2·65)	1·00
Other reasons	43 (74·14%)	21 (77·78%)	0·82 (0·23–2·66)	1·00

‡These analyses provide results from Fisher's exact tests in which the total sample includes only participants who noted a specific motivation to stop using substances.

^*These analyses provide results from Fisher's exact tests in which the total sample includes all participants who provided any qualitative data.

^†These analyses provide results from Fisher's exact tests in which the total sample includes only participants who noted a specific motivation for using substances.