Parental sexuality-related concerns for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and average or above IQ

•We survey parents of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder about sexuality.•We use principal components analysis to explore parental sexuality-related concerns.•Parents of youth with more severe autism symptoms reported greater concerns.•Many were concerned about relationships, few about inappropriate sexual behavior.•Parent concerns were not linked to number of sexuality topics discussed with youth.

This study examined the relationship between symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, parental sexuality-related concerns, and parent–child sexuality communication in a sample of 131 parents of youth with ASD (aged 12–18 years) and parent-reported average or above IQ. A principal component analysis was conducted on responses to the Parent Sexuality Concerns Inventory with four sexuality-related concern factors emerging. Parents of children with more severe autism spectrum disorder symptoms (e.g., deficits in social cognition, communication, motivation) had greater sexuality and relationship concerns for their child. Parental concerns were not associated with the number of sexuality topics parents reported having discussed with their child. However, some concerns were associated with parental preparedness to address sexual development and parent self-efficacy for communicating with youth about sexuality.