Love on the Spectrum: A Preliminary Investigation of the Links Between ASD Diagnosis and Romantic Love in Young Adults Experiencing Romantic Love

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with heterogeneous expressions and associated difficulties. While there is evidence that individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder face specific challenges in relation to establishing and maintaining romantic relationships, to our knowledge, no one has investigated the expression of romantic love in this population. Drawing on a sample of 810 young adults from the Romantic Love Survey 2022 (32 diagnosed with ASD), we calculated independent sample effect sizes to investigate differences in number of times ever in love, when participants fell in love relative to when they started their romantic relationships, intensity of romantic love, obsessive thinking about a loved one, commitment, and frequency of sex between individuals who have and have not been diagnosed with ASD. We only found small but not significant effects of commitment and frequency of sex. These preliminary findings suggest that individuals diagnosed with ASD may experience romantic love similarly to those not diagnosed with ASD. There was, however, some indication that individuals diagnosed with ASD may be less likely to progress their romantic relationship to a stage when they are having sex until they are in a committed relationship. This study can be used to help guide future research efforts and provide evidence that may be of comfort to some people diagnosed with ASD.