Kirby Anne V, Feldman Kristina, Clark Wilhelm, Darlington Amber N, Atisme Alissa, Duncan-Ishcomer Bobbi, Kripke-Ludwig Rachel, Joyce Andrea, Lee Whitney, Rodriguez Kayla, Siddeek Zack, Murthi Kavitha, Keeshin Brooks, Coon Hilary, Nicolaidis Christina
The University of Utah, USA.
Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education, USA.
Autism. 2025 Sep 4:13623613251368019. doi: 10.1177/13623613251368019.
Autistic individuals are disproportionately likely to experience suicidal thoughts, feelings, and actions. Addressing suicidality is also a high priority of autistic community members. The goal of this study was to understand broad influences on suicidality and suicide-prevention needs for the autistic community. Using a community-based participatory research approach, we conducted a reflective thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with 16 autistic adults, 8 family members, and 14 mental health providers. Themes summarizing influences on suicidality and suicide-prevention needs centered on three broad thematic concepts: (1) Pervasive negative societal attitudes and social experiences have a lasting impact on autistic people's feelings of worth; (2) negative experiences and stressors add strain, making life feel overwhelming and hopeless; and (3) difficulty regulating and managing emotions can increase the likelihood of suicidal feelings and actions. Participants provided autism-specific recommendations to incorporate into suicide prevention. The findings emphasize the need for multifaceted suicide-prevention efforts supporting autistic people through improved societal treatment, community-level supports, and individually tailored services.Lay AbstractAutistic people experience suicidal thoughts, feelings, and actions more often than non-autistic people. Autistic community members say this is an important research topic. The goal of this study was to understand broadly what kinds of things might lead autistic people to feel suicidal. We also wanted to know what is needed for suicide prevention for the autistic community. The research team for this study included autistic community partners using an approach called community-based participatory research. The study team did interviews with 16 autistic adults, 8 family members, and 14 mental health providers. The results show that different types of experiences can lead to suicidality. One influence is the negative treatment of autistic people. Negative experiences, challenges, and stressors can also make life feel overwhelming for autistic people. Finally, difficult emotions can be hard to manage. There are many things that participants thought would help autistic people feel less suicidal. The study shows that autistic people need to be treated better and need more community supports to help prevent suicidal feelings. They need individualized services to help manage their emotions.
自闭症患者出现自杀念头、自杀情绪和自杀行为的可能性极高。解决自杀问题也是自闭症群体成员的首要任务。本研究旨在了解影响自闭症群体自杀行为的广泛因素以及自杀预防需求。我们采用基于社区的参与性研究方法，对16名成年自闭症患者、8名家庭成员和14名心理健康服务提供者进行了定性访谈，并开展了反思性主题分析。总结影响自杀行为和自杀预防需求的主题集中在三个广泛的主题概念上：（1）普遍存在的负面社会态度和社会经历对自闭症患者的自我价值感产生了持久影响；（2）负面经历和压力源增加了压力，使生活感到不堪重负和绝望；（3）情绪调节和管理困难会增加自杀情绪和行为的可能性。参与者提供了针对自闭症的预防自杀建议。研究结果强调，需要通过改善社会对待方式、社区层面的支持和个性化服务，开展多方面的自杀预防工作，以支持自闭症患者。
自闭症患者比非自闭症患者更容易出现自杀念头、自杀情绪和自杀行为。自闭症群体成员表示，这是一个重要的研究课题。本研究旨在广泛了解哪些因素可能导致自闭症患者产生自杀念头。我们还想了解自闭症群体预防自杀需要什么。本研究的团队包括自闭症群体合作伙伴，采用了一种名为基于社区的参与性研究方法。研究团队对16名成年自闭症患者、8名家庭成员和14名心理健康服务提供者进行了访谈。结果表明，不同类型的经历会导致自杀行为。一个影响因素是对自闭症患者的负面对待。负面经历、挑战和压力源也会使自闭症患者感到生活不堪重负。最后，难以管理的情绪也会带来困扰。参与者认为有很多事情可以帮助自闭症患者减少自杀念头。研究表明，自闭症患者需要得到更好的对待，需要更多的社区支持来预防自杀情绪。他们需要个性化服务来帮助管理情绪。
