Autistic Adults Prefer Social Touch Less but Engage Just as Much: The Impact of Social Context, Relationship Type, Sensory Responsivity and Psychological Factors

Autistic people face touch-related challenges, yet the factors influencing these difficulties are not well understood. We developed a novel instrument to capture social touch experiences of autistic adults, along with both social and individual factors that influence them. Using mixed methods, including a body-painting task and questionnaires, we demonstrated that the perception of touch interactions varies based on social contexts and neurotypes. Autistic adults prefer touch less, but the type of relationship influences the perceived comfort and meaningfulness of touch similarly in both neurotypes. Regarding the appropriateness, erogeneity, and pleasantness of social touch, autistic adults showed different touch perceptions in the professional and friendly scenarios to that of non-autistic adults, whereas touch in intimate scenarios was perceived similarly. Sensory responsivity, touch predictability, social confidence, and anxiety affect social touch to a greater extent than non-autistic adults. Despite these marked differences in perception, autistic adults engage in social touch as frequently as non-autistic adults, and their satisfaction with touch is comparable. Our findings suggest that supporting autistic people would involve understanding their preferences and the contextual factors that contribute to their sense of comfort, rather than excluding them from touch interactions.