'Autistic' traits in non-autistic Japanese populations: relationships with personality traits and cognitive ability.
In non-autistic adults, high AQ scores flag personality and mood patterns, not autism-type cognition.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yura and colleagues gave the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to 1,000 Japanese college students without autism.
They also gave personality and mood tests plus short IQ tasks.
The goal was to see if high AQ scores in neurotypical adults match the personality and thinking style seen in autism.
What they found
Higher AQ scores went hand-in-hand with more introversion, anxiety, and obsessive traits.
Yet these same high-AQ students did NOT show the uneven IQ profile typical of autistic people.
In plain words, the AQ picked up personality quirks, not autism-style thinking.
How this fits with other research
Kocher et al. (2015) later scanned 508 young adults and found no link between AQ scores and actual brain structure.
This backs Yura’s point: in neurotypical people, AQ reflects personality, not biology.
Low et al. (2024) surveyed Malaysian students and showed that high self-reported AQ scores predicted stress and low self-efficacy.
Together, these studies extend Yura’s work by linking AQ scores to real-life stress, not just lab traits.
Hongo et al. (2024) introduced the Japanese CAT-Q for camouflaging traits, building on Yura’s groundwork by updating the tool set for modern practice.
Why it matters
If a neurotypical client scores high on the AQ, treat it as a signal for social anxiety or obsessive style, not as a hidden autism diagnosis.
Use the result to guide counseling or social-skills goals instead of autism-specific teaching.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We explored the relationships between 'autistic' traits as measured by the AQ (Autism-Spectrum Quotient; Baron-Cohen et al., J. Autism Develop. Disord. (2001b) 31 5) and various personality traits or cognitive ability, which usually coincide with autistic symptoms, for general populations. Results showed the AQ was associated with tendencies toward an obsessional personality as defined by the TCI (Temperament and Character Inventory), higher depression and anxiety, and higher frequency of experience of being bullied. These results parallel the patterns in autism and corroborate the validity of the AQ for general populations. Contrary to our prediction, however, there was no relationship between the AQ and cognitive ability, such as theory of mind, executive functioning, and central coherence, suggesting the AQ does not reflect autism-specific cognitive patterns in general populations.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2006 · doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0094-1