Autism Spectrum Disorder Traits and Empathy in Adolescents: Examining the Similarity Hypothesis

Abstract

The present study examined the similarity hypothesis for empathy among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits. The participants, 171 college students (91 men and 80 women, average age 19.8 years) completed three scales: (a) Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), (b) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), (c) Empathy Responses Scale, and scores measuring the participants’ perceived similarity to the character of an individual with autism spectrum disorder traits (character A) or without autism spectrum traits (character B). The perspective-taking, fantasy, and empathic concern scores on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of the participants with high Autism Spectrum Quotient scores were significantly lower than those of the participants with low Autism Spectrum Quotient scores. However, the personal distress scores on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index of the participants with high Autism Spectrum Quotient scores were considerably higher than those of the participants with low Autism Spectrum Quotient scores. These results, which are consistent with previous studies among individuals with autism spectrum disorder, suggest that individuals with strong autism spectrum disorder traits seem to have difficulty understanding other people’s perspective and feel distressed about others experiencing problems. Furthermore, among the participants with low and with high Autism Spectrum Quotient scores, the empathic concern scores for the participants who evaluated themselves as similar to an individual with autism spectrum disorder were significantly higher than those who evaluated themselves as dissimilar from such an individual. Therefore, the present findings support the similarity hypothesis for empathy among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder traits. Future studies should investigate whether the tendencies observed in the present study are also observed among individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.