Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry University, Coventry, UK.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2023 Jun;53(3):426-442. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12954. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
Autistic adults experience more frequent suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties than non-autistic adults, but research has yet to explain how these experiences are connected. This study explored how anxiety and depression contribute to suicidal thoughts according to the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide for autistic and non-autistic adults.
Participants (autistic adults n = 463, 61% female; non-autistic n = 342, 64% female) completed online measures of anxiety, depression, thwarted belonging, and perceived burdensomeness. Network analysis explored whether: (i) being autistic is a risk marker for suicide; and (ii) pathways to suicidal thoughts are consistent for autistic and non-autistic adults.
Being autistic connected closely with feeling like an outsider, anxiety, and movement, which connected to suicidal thoughts through somatic experiences, low mood, and burdensomeness. Networks were largely consistent for autistic and non-autistic people, but connections from mood symptoms to somatic and thwarted belonging experiences were absent for autistic adults.
Autistic people experience more life stressors than non-autistic people leading to reduced coping, low mood, and suicidal thoughts. Promoting belonging, reducing anxiety, and understanding the role of movement could inform suicide prevention for autistic people. Research should accurately capture autistic lived experience when modeling suicide to ensure suicide prevention meets autistic needs.
自闭症成年人比非自闭症成年人更频繁地出现自杀念头和心理健康问题，但研究尚未解释这些经历是如何联系在一起的。本研究根据自杀的人际理论，探讨了焦虑和抑郁如何导致自闭症和非自闭症成年人出现自杀念头。
参与者（自闭症成年人 n=463，女性占 61%；非自闭症成年人 n=342，女性占 64%）完成了在线焦虑、抑郁、归属感受挫和感知负担的测量。网络分析探讨了以下两种情况：（i）自闭症是否是自杀的风险标志物；（ii）自闭症和非自闭症成年人的自杀思维途径是否一致。
自闭症与被视为局外人、焦虑和运动密切相关，而这些又通过躯体体验、情绪低落和负担感与自杀念头联系起来。网络对于自闭症和非自闭症人群基本一致，但自闭症成年人的情绪症状与躯体和归属感受挫的联系不存在。
自闭症人群比非自闭症人群经历更多的生活压力源，导致应对能力下降、情绪低落和自杀念头。促进归属感、减轻焦虑以及了解运动的作用可以为自闭症人群的自杀预防提供信息。在对自杀进行建模时，研究应该准确捕捉自闭症的生活体验，以确保自杀预防措施满足自闭症人群的需求。
