Abstract

Autistic people have a significantly increased risk of death by suicide relative to the general population. In non-autistic samples, psychological wellbeing has been shown to moderate the relationship between depression and suicidal thoughts and behavior. Thoughts of self-harm may provide a useful indicator of suicidal risk. In this longitudinal study we examined (a) the potential role for psychological wellbeing to moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and thoughts of self-harm and (b) the contribution of autistic traits to thoughts of self-harm.

Participants were 209 autistic adolescents and adults aged 15 to 80 years (Mage=34.20, SD=15.38 years). At both baseline and 2-year follow-up, 35% of participants reported recent thoughts of self-harm. Wellbeing was associated with autistic traits (r=-.350 to -0.404) and depression (r=-.480 to -0.759). Thoughts of self-harm were positively associated with autistic traits and depression (r=.242 to 0.659), and negatively associated with wellbeing (r=-.287 to -0.609). Controlling for baseline thoughts of self-harm, depression (β = 0.254, p = .001) and autistic traits (β = 0.162, p = .007) significantly predicted thoughts of self-harm at 2-year follow-up.

Despite a lack of support for the hypothesis that wellbeing would moderate the relationship between depression and thoughts of self-harm, correlational data demonstrated significant associations between wellbeing and both depression and thoughts of self-harm. Future research considering psychological wellbeing as a potential protective factor for self-harm in autistic people is warranted.

Citation

Hedley, D., Uljarević, M., Bury, S.M., Haschek, A., Richdale, A., Trollor, J., & Stokes, M. (2024). Examination of the potential moderating role of psychological wellbeing in the relationship between depression and thoughts of self-harm in autistic adolescents and adults: A two-year longitudinal study. J Autism Dev Disord. doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06489-x