​​Personality Trait Attribution: Accuracy in Autistic and Nonautistic Adolescents

The project examined the accuracy of personality trait attributions to self and to a familiar other in autistic and nonautistic adolescents. Attributing personality traits requires integrating categorization processes with theory of mind (ToM) abilities, both of which are often discussed in autism research. However, the personality trait concept itself has received little empirical attention in autism despite its central role in social interactions and personal relationships. Adolescents and parents from 34 dyads (17 autistic, 17 nonautistic) completed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), rating their own and each other’s personality traits. Attribution accuracy was operationalized as intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between adolescents’ and parents’ ratings. A mixed-design ANOVA examined differences in attribution accuracy by group (autistic vs. nonautistic) and attribution type (self vs. other). Findings advance theoretical understanding of social cognition in autism.