TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-harm and Suicidality Experiences of Middle-Age and Older Adults With vs. Without High Autistic Traits
AU - Stewart, Gavin R.
AU - Corbett, Anne
AU - Ballard, Clive
AU - Creese, Byron
AU - Aarsland, Dag
AU - Hampshire, Adam
AU - Charlton, Rebecca A.
AU - Happé, Francesca
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper represents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London; Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Exeter Clinical Research Facility; Economic and Social Research Council via the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership. The funders have had no role in the data collection, analysis, interpretation, or any other aspect pertinent to the study. The authors have not been paid to write this article by any agency. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health, or the ESRC.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Suicide has been identified as a leading cause of premature death in autistic populations. Elevated autistic traits have also been associated with higher rates of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicidal self-harm in the general population, but this has yet to be examined in older age. Using baseline cross-sectional data from the PROTECT study, middle-age and older adults with high autistic traits (n = 276) had significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation, deliberate self-harm, and suicidal self-harm than an age/sex-matched comparison group (n = 10,495). These differences represented a 5- to 6-fold increase in likelihood for self-harming and suicidality. These findings, which remained when controlling for depression symptoms, suggest that middle-age and older adults with high autistic traits may be particularly at risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviours.
AB - Suicide has been identified as a leading cause of premature death in autistic populations. Elevated autistic traits have also been associated with higher rates of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicidal self-harm in the general population, but this has yet to be examined in older age. Using baseline cross-sectional data from the PROTECT study, middle-age and older adults with high autistic traits (n = 276) had significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation, deliberate self-harm, and suicidal self-harm than an age/sex-matched comparison group (n = 10,495). These differences represented a 5- to 6-fold increase in likelihood for self-harming and suicidality. These findings, which remained when controlling for depression symptoms, suggest that middle-age and older adults with high autistic traits may be particularly at risk of self-harm and suicidal behaviours.
KW - Autistic traits
KW - Older age
KW - Self-harm
KW - Suicidality
KW - Suicide
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130716635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10803-022-05595-y
DO - 10.1007/s10803-022-05595-y
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85130716635
SN - 0162-3257
JO - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
ER -
