@article{ref1,
title="Self-harm and suicidality experiences of middle-age and older adults with vs. without high autistic traits",
journal="Journal of autism and developmental disorders",
year="2022",
author="Stewart, Gavin R. and Corbett, Anne and Ballard, Clive and Creese, Byron and Aarsland, Dag and Hampshire, Adam and Charlton, Rebecca A. and Happé, Francesca",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0162-3257",
doi="10.1007/s10803-022-05595-y",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05595-y"
}