Recent Research Points to a Clear Conclusion: Autistic People are Thinking About, and Dying by, Suicide at High Rates.
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Adults, Children, and Teens (REAACT) ProgramRates of death by suicide among teens and adults have increased more than 30% since 2000 in the United States, and an estimated 800,000 people die from suicide worldwide each year.1,2 Even more people experience suicidal thoughts and/or make suicide attempts.The past several years of research have taught us that autistic people are more likely to die from suicide than non-autistic people.[3][4][5] Autistic people are also more likely to have suicidal ideation and to make attempts.Based on rates from a recent meta-analysis (statistical analysis to combine rates from published studies on the topic), 20% of autistic children and teens reported suicidal ideation in the past year, and 10% reported suicide attempts.6 Non-autistic children and teens comparatively report rates of 14.2% for suicidal thoughts and 4.5% for suicidal attempts.7 This suggests that the rates of suicide attempts are double in autistic children and teens compared to non-autistic children and teens.The comparisons for adults are even more striking.For autistic adults, 42% reported suicidal ideation in the past year, and 18% reported attempts.6 In studies of people who were first diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, over 60% reported having suicidal ideation.8 Comparatively, nonautistic adults reported rates of 4.8% for suicidal ideation and 0.7% for suicidal attempts.9 Therefore, available data suggests that autistic adults are 25 times more likely to make a suicide attempt than non-autistic adults.An important limitation is that nearly all of the suicide research in autism has occurred in the past five years and the body of evidence remains limited in comparison to the general suicide literature.Further, it is important to note that there are large differences in suicide rates across different studies.Many studies have used online samples, and it may be possible that relying on online studies may result in higher rates.As a potential explanation, autistic adults might be drawn to participate in studies because of their personal experiences with suicidality.Furthermore, it can be hard to know if people in an online sample accurately represent the entirety of the autistic community.Regardless, these high rates are very concerning, and several autistic advocacy groups have identified suicide risk and prevention as top priorities for research and government efforts.10,11 Note: If you are currently experiencing a crisis or are thinking of suicide, please call, text, or chat the national suicide prevention lifeline at 988 (call or text) or Link to 988 Lifeline Chat and Text.
Source: PubMed
Authors: Caitlin M Conner, Amy Ionadi, Carla A Mazefsky
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4395465804