Exploring social cognition and romantic self-efficacy in autistic young adults: Better social awareness is associated with lower confidence

Background: Despite misconceptions, autistic young adults are interested in romantic relationships (Fernandes et al., 2016; Hancock et al., 2019; Mehzabin & Stokes, 2011). Research is needed to better understand how the social characteristics of autism impact romantic relationship experiences, knowledge of sexual health, and confidence in one's own abilities. Social cognition skills are linked to functioning in interpersonal relationships and are important for understanding the mental states of others. The present research aims to explore the intersections among social cognition skills, romantic self-efficacy, perceived knowledge, and dating outcomes. We hypothesize that social cognition level, self-efficacy, perceived knowledge, and romantic relationship outcomes will be positively related. Method: Verbal autistic young adults (N = 31) aged 18–26 years participated in a study aimed at investigating the romantic experiences of young autistic adults. Participants completed questionnaires on self-efficacy and perceived knowledge, as well as a battery of social cognition tasks, including assessments of spontaneous and non-spontaneous social cognition. Results: Spontaneous social cognition was negatively correlated with both relationship self-efficacy and perceived knowledge. Perceived knowledge, actual knowledge, and self-efficacy were positively correlated with each other. Conclusion: This exploratory study was the first of which we are aware to demonstrate that autistic adults with stronger spontaneous social awareness are less confident of their sexual knowledge and abilities in romantic relationships than autistic adults with weaker spontaneous awareness. These findings suggest social cognitive tasks could be useful in assessing the specific sexual and romantic health-education needs of young autistic adults.