The intersection of autistic traits, ADHD traits, and gender diversity in disordered eating and drive for muscularity within the general population

Abstract

Neurodivergent and gender diverse people are overrepresented among individuals with eating disorders. There also appears to be an epidemiological overlap between autism, ADHD, and gender diversity, making it difficult to disentangle their possible contributions to eating behaviours and body image, including restrictive eating and muscle-building behaviours. We examined the unique associations between neurodivergent traits, dimensional gender diversity, disordered eating (DE), and drive for muscularity in a UK general population sample ( N = 492; 324 assigned female at birth; 98.6% cisgender; M age = 41.44 years), using correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions. We found higher levels of autistic traits, ADHD traits, and gender diversity were associated with elevated DE. Nonbinary gender diversity, when one's gender identity exists between or outside of the gender binary, was associated with higher levels of drive for muscularity in people assigned female at birth, but with elevated DE in people assigned male at birth. Notably, ADHD traits were the only independent predictor of DE and drive for muscularity when controlling for co-occurring internalising symptoms. The study highlights an association between ADHD traits and both DE and drive for muscularity, even after controlling for internalising symptoms. Additionally, it demonstrates the crucial role of internalising symptoms when examining the associations between autistic traits, gender diversity, and DE.