Table 1.
Demographics for autistic and general population samples
| SPARK (n = 743) | HPP (n = 721) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 30.91 (7.02) | 30.92 (13.01) |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 271 (36.5%) | 253 (35.1%) |
| Female | 472 (63.5%) | 468 (64.9%) |
| Gender identity | ||
| Cisgender man | 245 (33.0%) | – |
| Cisgender woman | 400 (53.8%) | – |
| Transgender man | 15 (2.0%) | – |
| Transgender woman | 6 (0.8%) | – |
| Non-binary | 76 (10.2%) | – |
| Non-Hispanic White | 590 (79.4%) | – |
| Education | ||
| No high school diploma | 25 (3.4%) | – |
| High school diploma/GED | 140 (18.8%) | – |
| Vocational certificate | 36 (4.8%) | – |
| Some college | 197 (26.5%) | – |
| Associate degree | 74 (10.0%) | – |
| Bachelor’s degree | 171 (23.0%) | – |
| Graduate/professional degree | 100 (13.5%) | – |
| Age of autism diagnosis (years) | 19.67 (11.17) | – |
| Current depression | 440 (59.2%) | – |
| Current anxiety | 533 (71.7%) | – |
| Current suicidality | 292 (39.3%) | – |
| Lifetime ADHD | 342 (46.0%) | – |
| TAS-20 total score | 60.55 (13.11) | 50.21 (11.21)a |
| TAS-20 total score (prorated)b | 61.26 (14.17) | 51.38 (10.92) |
| GAFS-8 latent trait score | 1.01 (1.17) | 0.01 (0.93) |
| “High alexithymia” (TAS-20 ≥ 61) | 405 (54.5%) | 123 (17.1%)a |
Continuous variables are presented as M (SD), and categorical variables are presented as N (%). All data in both samples were gathered by self-report
SPARK Simons Powering Autism Research Knowledge, HPP Human Penguin Project, ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, TAS Toronto Alexithymia Scale, GAFS-8 8-item General Alexithymia Factor Score
aParticipants in the HPP sample completed 16 items of the TAS-20, which excluded items 16, 17, 18, and 20. For comparison with the TAS-20 scores in the SPARK sample, these four items were imputed for all HPP participants using random forest imputation
bCalculated as mean of all 16 non-missing TAS-20 items multiplied by 20, for comparison with TAS-20 scores