Author: Flinders University
Published: 2024/10/29
Post type: Experimental study – Peer Reviewed: Yeah
Issue: Autism Information (Publications Database)
Page content: Synopsis Introduction Main article
Synopsis: A study challenges the common belief that autistic adults are more prone to criminal exploitation than non-autistic adults. The study involved 197 participants (102 autistic adults and 95 non-autistic adults) who immersed themselves as actors in scenarios that, as they unfolded, increasingly suggested criminal intentions on the part of those with whom they interacted.
Why it is important: This article is important because it challenges a common misconception about autistic adults and their vulnerability to criminal exploitation. Research by Flinders University provides evidence that autistic adults are generally no more susceptible to being involuntarily drawn into criminal activity than non-autistic adults. The study’s findings are particularly valuable as they contradict widely held beliefs that are often used in legal defenses. Rather than autism itself, the research identifies verbal intelligence and theory of mind as key factors in recognizing suspicious behavior, regardless of neurotype. This idea is crucial for legal professionals, doctors, and society at large as it emphasizes the importance of individual assessment rather than making broad assumptions based on an autism diagnosis. Disabled world.
Introduction
In a new study, Flinders University researchers have tested the common belief that autistic adults are more likely than non-autistic adults to criminal exploitation due to difficulties recognizing criminal intent.
Main article
“It is not uncommon for defense attorneys, often supported by testimony from ‘expert’ witnesses, to argue that autistic adults have difficulty interpreting the intentions or reading the minds of others, making them vulnerable to being induced into activities criminal activities,” says Professor Neil Brewer, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Psychology in the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Social Work.
“Such arguments reflect the widely held view that difficulties in reading the intentions, emotions and motivations of others are fundamental features of autism.”
“However, this perspective may not hold up under scrutiny and we found that, overall, autistic adults are no more vulnerable to being caught up in criminal acts than non-autistic adults.”
“Furthermore, the mind-reading difficulties that are often considered inherently linked to autism are by no means ubiquitous in autistic adults.”
Published in the American Psychological Society diary, Law and human behaviorFormer PhD student Zoe Michael and her supervisor Professor Neil Brewer developed and used a novel, realistic paradigm, the suspicious activity paradigm or SAP, to assess how well adults can recognize and respond to cues that suggest that social media interactions can culminate in criminal behavior.
The study involved 197 participants (102 autistic adults and 95 non-autistic adults) who immersed themselves as actors in scenarios that, as they unfolded, increasingly suggested criminal intentions on the part of those with whom they interacted.
They were then asked how they would react at various points as the scenarios played out to assess their ability to recognize and respond to suspicious actions by others, thereby assessing their vulnerability to being involuntarily drawn into criminal activity.
“We found that, overall, both autistic and non-autistic adults responded similarly to suspicious behavior in various scenarios,” says Professor Brewer.
“Importantly, autistic adults did not show lower rates of suspicion or adaptive responses compared to their non-autistic counterparts as the scenarios unfolded. Nor were they slower to recognize the potentially problematic nature of the interaction.”
Building on previous research, the study found that verbal intelligence and Theory of Mind (ToM), a term used to describe the ability to take the perspective or read the minds of others, predicted a person’s ability to recognize and respond to suspicious activity.
“Our findings indicate that the ability to understand the perspectives and intentions of others, and not the presence of an autism diagnosis, was a critical factor influencing their vulnerability to crime,” he says.
In other words, while autistic individuals who had difficulty discerning the intentions of others were vulnerable, the same was true for their non-autistic peers.
It is important to note, however, that there was a relatively small proportion of autistic individuals whose performance on the mindreading measure was lower than that of anyone in the non-autistic sample, a finding consistently replicated by the Flinders research team that developed the measure. .
This indicates that there will be some autistic individuals who are likely to be particularly vulnerable due to mind-reading difficulties, but such difficulties cannot be assumed.
“Therefore, rather than defense attorneys and doctors assuming and arguing that a diagnosis of autism automatically indicates a particular vulnerability to being drawn into crime, it is important to formally evaluate and demonstrate that a suspect or accused of a crime has significant difficulties in reading minds that has probably made them vulnerable,” he adds.
The article, ‘Detection of criminal intentions in social interactions: the influence of autism and theory of mind’ by Zoe Michael and Neil Brewer is published in Law and human behavior.
Expressions of gratitude
This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Program (Grant DP 190100162 awarded to Neil Brewer and Robyn Young) and a Flinders University Research Training Scholarship awarded to Zoe Michael.
Attribution/Source(s):
This peer-reviewed publication was selected for publication by the editors of Disabled World due to its important relevance to the disability community. Originally written by Flinders Universityand published on 10/29/2024, content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For more details or clarifications, Flinders University You can contact flinders.edu.au. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranty or endorsement related to this item.
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Cite this page (APA): Flinders University. (2024, October 29). Exploring the possible vulnerability of autistic adults to criminal exploitation. Disabled world. Retrieved October 29, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/health/neurology/autism/exploit.php
Permanent link: Exploring the possible vulnerability of autistic adults to criminal exploitation: A study challenges the common belief that autistic adults are more prone than non-autistic adults to criminal exploitation.
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