'Boyish' play in 7 year-old girls linked to autistic traits, study finds
'Boyish' play in 7 year-old girls linked to autistic traits, study finds
NEW DELHI: Seven-year-old girls engaging in "boyish" play, such as using gun toys and doing police role-play, could be related to autistic traits, a new Swedish study has found.
Among boys of this age though, the picture is "more complex," according to Marlene Stratmann, a PhD student in public health sciences at Karlstad University and a co-author of the study published in the journal PLoS ONE.
In 718 children, the researchers found that while boyish behaviour was related to hyperactivity and inattention in both genders, boys engaging in girlish behaviour, such as playing with dolls and role-playing as a princess, were found to have troubled relationships with peers.
