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Author(s): Katy-Louise Payne [sup.1] , K. L. Maras [sup.2] , A. J. Russell [sup.2] , M. J. Brosnan [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.44870.3f, Faculty of Health, Education and Society, University [...], Mental health difficulties, family and childhood adversity factors, substance use and conduct problems have all been linked to offending behaviour in the general population. However, no large-scale study with comparison groups has investigated these risk factors in relation to autistic offenders. The current research included 40 autistic offenders, 40 autistic non-offenders, 40 typically developed (TD) offenders and 39 TD non-offenders. Conduct problems risk factors differentiated autistic offenders from both non-offender groups (autistic and TD) and mental health risk factors differentiated autistic offenders from both TD groups (offenders and non-offenders). Further research is required to understand more about the role of both conduct problems risk factors in autistic offenders (e.g., age at onset, frequency of behaviours) and the mental health needs of autistic offenders.

Autistic adults often experience difficulties in taking the perspective of others, potentially undermining their social interactions. We evaluated a quick, forced-choice version of the Adult Theory of Mind (A-ToM) test, which was designed to assess such difficulties and comprehensively evaluated by Brewer et al. (2017). The forced-choice version (the A-ToM-Q) demonstrated discriminant, concurrent, convergent and divergent validity using samples of autistic (N = 96) and non-autistic adults (N = 75). It can be administered in a few minutes and machine-scored, involves minimal training and facilitates large-scale, live, or web-based testing. It permits measurement of response latency and self-awareness, with response characteristics on both measures enhancing understanding of the nature and extent of perspective taking difficulties in autistic individuals., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

International law enforcement agencies have reported an apparent preponderance of autistic individuals amongst perpetrators of cyber-dependent crimes, such as hacking or spreading malware (Ledingham and Mills in Adv Autism 1:1-10, 2015). However, no empirical evidence exists to support such a relationship. This is the first study to empirically explore potential relationships between cyber-dependent crime and autism, autistic-like traits, explicit social cognition and perceived interpersonal support. Participants were 290 internet users, 23 of whom self-reported being autistic, who completed an anonymous online survey. Increased risk of committing cyber-dependent crime was associated with higher autistic-like traits. A diagnosis of autism was associated with a decreased risk of committing cyber-dependent crime. Around 40% of the association between autistic-like traits and cyber-dependent crime was mediated by advanced digital skills.

One-hundred-and-sixty jury-eligible participants read a vignette describing a male who was brought to the attention of police for suspicious and aggressive behaviours and displayed atypical behaviours in court. Half of participants were informed that he had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and were given background information about ASD; the other half received no diagnostic label or information. The provision of a label and information led to higher ratings of the defendant's honesty and likeability, reduced blameworthiness, and resulted in fewer guilty verdicts, and more lenient sentencing. Thematic analysis revealed that participants in the label condition were more empathetic and attributed his behaviours to his ASD and mitigating factors, while participants in the No label condition perceived the defendant as deceitful, unremorseful, rude and aggressive.

A number of studies have demonstrated schema-related misinformation effects in typical individuals, but no research to date has examined this with witnesses with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite their impaired ability to generate core elements that define everyday events. After witnessing slides depicting a bank robbery, 16 adults with ASD and 16 matched comparison individuals were exposed to post-event misinformation that was either schema typical or atypical. Consistent with previous work, the comparison group went onto report more schema typical misinformation than atypical misinformation. However, so too did the ASD group, suggesting that individuals with ASD do have understanding of the causal links between events, persons and actions, an important finding from both theoretical and applied perspectives.