{
  "abstract": "Whether people experiencing mental ill health or disability should be referred to using person-first (e.g., “person with autism”) or identity-first (e.g., “autistic person”) terminology is an ongoing subject of debate. The present study conducted the most comprehensive investigation to date of historical trends in the use of the two kinds of terms, evaluating the frequency of “X person/people” relative to “person/people with X” expressions for a collection of mental health, disability, and other conditions in Google Books (1980–2019) and the News on the Web corpus (2010–2025). Consistent with predictions, person-first language became more popular from 1980 onward, but this trend was counteracted by a more recent swing toward identity-first language, resulting in a curvilinear trend. Identity-first language was also more prevalent in singular than in plural expressions. Beyond these broad trends, there was substantial diversity in terminological preferences and trends across conditions. Implications are discussed.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia",
    "School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jemima Kang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Naomi Baes"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alsa Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nick Haslam"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tfzg4xar11y7.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684",
  "id": "3tfzg4xar11y7",
  "issns": [
    "2837-8156"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3311|Disability Rights and Representation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Language"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Developmental neuroscience/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Language"
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      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Disabilities"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Mood disorders/Depression"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Schizophrenia"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Neurology/Neurodevelopmental disorders/Autism"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Psycholinguistics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Language"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Developmental psychology/Pervasive developmental disorders/Autism spectrum disorder/Autism"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213431805",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-16",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tfzg4xar11y7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000684"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:mental health and psychiatry",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Who you are or what you have: Historical trends in identity-first and person-first language in books and news media",
  "title_text": "Who you are or what you have: Historical trends in identity-first and person-first language in books and news media",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tfzg4xar11y7",
  "venue": "PLOS Mental Health",
  "versions": []
}