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Suicidal ideation and suicide plans or attempts in adults with Asperger's syndrome attending a specialist diagnostic clinic: a clinical cohort study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Asperger's syndrome in adulthood is frequently associated with depression, but few studies have explored the lifetime experience of self-reported suicidal ideation and suicide plans or attempts in this clinical group. We aimed to assess this prevalence in a clinical cohort of patients in the UK. METHOD: In a clinical cohort study, we undertook a retrospective analysis of clinical survey data from adults newly diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at a specialist diagnostic clinic between Jan 23, 2004, and July 8, 2013, in England. Patients completed a self-report questionnaire before clinical assessment, recording lifetime experience of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide plans or attempts, along with self-reported measures of autistic traits and empathy. We compared the rate of suicidal ideation in the sample with published rates of suicidal ideation in the general population and other clinical groups. We also assessed associations between depression, autistic traits, empathy, and likelihood of suicidal ideation and suicide plans or attempts. FINDINGS: 374 adults (256 men and 118 women) were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in the study period. 243 (66%) of 367 respondents self-reported suicidal ideation, 127 (35%) of 365 respondents self-reported plans or attempts at suicide, and 116 (31%) of 368 respondents self-reported depression. Adults with Asperger's syndrome were significantly more likely to report lifetime experience of suicidal ideation than were individuals from a general UK population sample (odds ratio 9·6 [95% CI 7·6-11·9], p<0·0001), people with one, two, or more medical illnesses (p<0·0001), or people with psychotic illness (p=0·019). Compared with people diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome without depression, people with Asperger's syndrome and depression were more likely to report suicidal ideation (p<0·0001) and suicide plans or attempts (p<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: Our findings lend support to anecdotal reports of increased rates of suicidal ideation in adults with Asperger's syndrome, and depression as an important potential risk factor for suicidality in adults with this condition. Because adults with Asperger's syndrome often have many risk factors for secondary depression (eg, social isolation or exclusion, and unemployment), our findings emphasise the need for appropriate service planning and support to reduce risk in this clinical group. FUNDING: The Three Guineas Trust, the Baily Thomas Foundation, the Medical Research Council, NIHR-CLAHRC-EoE, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), and the Autism Research Trust.
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“In line with high depression prevalence, suicidal ideation (66%) and suicidal behaviour (35%) were also common among autistic adults (Cassidy et al., 2014).”
From Diagnosis of autism in adulthood: A scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al., 2014
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“Studies most commonly discussed depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders, comparing autistic adults with the general population (e.g. Cassidy et al., 2014; Kanai, Iwanami, Hashimoto, et al., 2011) and/or adults who were assessed but not diagnosed with autism (e.g. Happé et al., 2016; Wilson et al., 2016).”
From Diagnosis of autism in adulthood: A scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al., 2014
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“32% reported a history of depression, 66% suicidal ideation, 35% suicide plans or attempts.”
From Diagnosis of autism in adulthood: A scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al. (2014)
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“have increased vulnerability to mental ill‐health (Lai et al., 2019), including high rates of suicide (Cassidy et al., 2014; Kirby et al., 2019).”
From Annual Research Review: Shifting from ‘normal science’ to neurodiversity in autism science (2022) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al., 2014
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“One group at substantially higher risk of suicidality and mental illness are autistic people [10, 11].”
From A 'choice', an 'addiction', a way 'out of the lost': Exploring self-injury in autistic people without intellectual disability (2019) · cites this paper as [10]
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“ASD with depression has even higher rates with 85% suicidal ideation and 49% suicidal plans and attempts [5, 6].”
From The effect of dialectical behaviour therapy in autism spectrum patients with suicidality and/or self-destructive behaviour (DIASS): Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
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“Cassidy and colleagues showed that depression is an important risk factor for suicidality and that social isolation is also associated with suicidal behaviour in autism [6].”
From The effect of dialectical behaviour therapy in autism spectrum patients with suicidality and/or self-destructive behaviour (DIASS): Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
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“Suicidal ideation and behaviour were associated with depression.”
From Diagnosis of autism in adulthood: A scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al. (2014)
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“Suicidal ideation is significantly higher than previous data on the general population, people with medical illnesses, and people with psychotic disorders.”
From Diagnosis of autism in adulthood: A scoping review (2020) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al. (2014)
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“Indeed, in a sample of recently diagnosed autistic adults without ID, 66% self-reported suicidal ideation and 35% self-reported plans or attempts of suicide (Cassidy et al., 2014).”
From Feasibility, Acceptability and Preliminary Efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Autistic Adults without Intellectual Disability: A Mixed Methods Study (2022) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al., 2014
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“Standardised tools for assessing depression are frequently developed for neurotypical populations, meaning they may not adequately capture autism-specific features of depressive symptoms, such as heightened sensory sensitivities or unique patterns of social withdrawal (Cassidy et al., 2014).”
From Rethinking psychological interventions in autism: Toward a neurodiversity‐affirming approach. (2025) · cites this paper as Cassidy et al., 2014
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Traits characteristic of autism are also significantly associated with suicidality in those with [2], and without ASC diagnosis [16–18].”
From Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“There are elevated rates of suicidality in adults diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) [1–5].”
From Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“Results are consistent with previous findings that autistic adults are at significantly increased risk of suicidality compared to the general population [2].”
From Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“However, lifetime experience of depression in the general population (44.9%) and ASC group (80%) were much higher than previous estimates [2, 22, 54], despite participants not being recruited because of experience with mental health problems.”
From Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“Lifetime suicide attempts in the general population (8%) and ASC group (38%) are similar to previous studies [2, 17], which suggests that the sample was not biased in this respect.”
From Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“There is significant overrepresentation of mental health needs in people with autism.6,7”
From Current practice and adaptations being made for people with autism admitted to in-patient psychiatric services across the UK (2021) · cites this paper as [6]
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BackgroundInfluentialSuicidality in Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Commentary
Lai, J., Rhee, E., & Nicholas, D. B. (2017) · Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s41252-017-0018-4 · Cited by 16
“More recently, in a large clinical sample of adults in the UK, Cassidy et al. (2014) reported a 66% rate of suicidal ideation (SI) (a tenfold increase from the general population) while 35% reported suicide plans or attempts.”
BackgroundInfluentialExamining the Relationship Between Autism Traits and Sleep Duration as Predictors of Suicidality
Hochard, K. D., Pendrous, R., Mari, T., & Flynn, S. (2020) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04405-7 · Cited by 17
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Angulo-Jiménez, H., Chan, M., & DeThorne, L. S. (2019) · Autism in Adulthood · doi:10.1089/aut.2019.0024 · Cited by 17
“25,26 In short, bringing autistic perspectives on neurotypicality and its consequences into the professional empirical literature base is of critical importance for improving service delivery and supporting the overall social/emotional health of autistic individuals.”
Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Suicide: A Narrative Review
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“The risk of contemplating suicide [100] ideas and dying by suicide [95] is the highest for autistic adults without intellectual disabilities (IDs), especially in those with a significantly higher level of autistic traits [100].”
BackgroundAdult Life for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Magiati, I., & Howlin, P. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108297769.011 · Cited by 17
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“…In this way, prolonged periods of intense suicide ideation with mental rehearsal of suicide plans, which are suggested by heightened rates of suicide ideation in neurodivergent people, 4,49–51 may habituate individuals to the thought of suicide and actually enable them to act on suicidal thoughts.”
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BackgroundFostering social connectedness among adolescents and adults with autism: A qualitative analysis
Tomfohrde, O., Hudock, R. L., Kremer, K. B., Fatiha, N., & Weiler, L. M. (2022) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.22759 · Cited by 13
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The Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults With a Genetic Predisposition for Autism
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“This finding, along with the elevated rates of clinical levels of current depression, may be of importance as both posttraumatic stress and depression have been described as mechanisms to suicidal thoughts, behaviors and attempts in autistic populations [Cassidy et al., 2014; Storch et al., 2013].”
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“Two studies found no gender difference in suicide attempt (Cassidy et al., 2014; Dell’Osso et al., 2019), while two found females more likely to attempt suicide (Kõlves et al., 2021; Paquette-Smith et al., 2014) and one found males more likely (Mayes et al., 2013).”
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“Does he have to attempt suicide before anyone takes notice?” Greater attention needs to be paid to recognizing risk of self-harm and determining appropriate community and hospital-based resources (Cassidy et al., 2014; Cassidy and Rodgers, 2017; Lai et al., 2017).”
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Two Halves of the Same Whole: A Framework to Integrate Autism and Mental Health Services
Cleary, M., West, S., Mclean, L., Kornhaber, R., & Hungerford, C. (2022) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1080/01612840.2022.2126570 · Cited by 12
“Late diagnosis can impede timely access to necessary help during critical development periods, which can negatively impact mental health and levels of suicidality (Cassidy et al., 2014).”
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“Cassidy et al. 16 found that although 66% of a sample of adults with Asperger’s syndrome reported suicidal experiences, only 32% reported concurrent depressive symptoms.”
InfluentialSelf-citationChan, D. V., & Doran, J. D. (2023) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613231197446 · Cited by 12
“…is not given to referral for mental health services in the transition to adulthood, despite growing research on the high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in autistic adolescents and adults (Cassidy et al., 2014; Maddox et al., 2021; Rosen et al., 2018).”
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“Cassidy et al. (2014) found that rates of suicidal ideation and attempts rose dramatically for autistic adults with depression, increasing from 66% to 85% for ideation and 35% to 49% for attempts.”
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Marrus, N. M., Koth, K. A., Hellings, J. A., McDonald, R. G., Gwynette, M. F., Muhle, R., Lohr, W. D., & Vasa, R. A. (2022) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613221112197 · Cited by 12
“Compared to the general population, children and adults with ASD and ID have elevated rates of co-occurring psychiatric conditions and symptoms, including anxiety and mood disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, suicidal ideation, and aggression (Cassidy et al., 2014; Einfeld et al., 2006; Joshi et al., 2…”
BackgroundMeta-Synthesis of Autistic Adults’ First-Person Perspectives About Mental Health-Related Services
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“25 Core symptoms of ASD, such as difficulty or inability to express emotions and thoughts and social isolation, increase the risk of comorbid depression.”
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Suicide and Autism: A Lifespan Perspective
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Well-Being and Self-Disorders in Schizotypal Disorder and Asperger Syndrome/Autism Spectrum Disorder
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“Associations between depression/affective symptoms (Cassidy et al., 2014; Hawton et al., 2005) and social difficulties/negative symptoms (Hirvikoski et al., 2016; Narvaez et al., 2008) are also described in relation to adjacent areas like quality of life and suicidality.”
BackgroundReasons for alcohol use and non-use by underage U.S. autistic youth: A qualitative study
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“…stopped or arrested by police, longterm unemployment, pressure to camouflage or mask their disability, and suicidality (Ashburner et al., 2019; Cassidy et al., 2014; Darvishi et al., 2015; Gillespie-Lynch et al., 2021; Griffiths et al., 2019), it is reasonable to suspect that autistic people…”
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Mental Health Care Needs and Access to Care for Adults With Intellectual Disabilities
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Autism and emotion recognition technologies in the workplace
Katirai, A. (2024) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613241279704 · Cited by 7
“Through the justification, for example, that it supports workers’ mental well-being, there may be purported tracking of other conditions such as anxiety or depression which autistic adults experience at higher rates (Cassidy et al., 2014; Hollocks et al., 2019).”
Reid, M., Clawson, A., Ratto, A. B., & Rich, B. A. (2024) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-024-01791-2 · Cited by 9
“Research documents increased premature mortality among autistic individuals (note: the current study uses identity-first language given language preferences discussed in [5]), with suicide being a leading factor [8, 18, 29, 42, 56].”
Neuroticism Drives Associations Between Repetitive Behaviors and Depression in Autistic Adults
Schwartzman, J. M., Williams, Z. J., Richards, J. K., Mattheiss, S. R., & Gotham, K. O. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.803361 · Cited by 9
Gernert, C. C., Falter‐Wagner, C. M., Noreika, V., Jachs, B., Jassim, N., Gibbs, K., Streicher, J., Betts, H., & Bekinschtein, T. A. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0303209 · Cited by 9
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“Furthermore, these findings add to the literature (Cassidy et al., 2014; Hedley et al., 2022), asserting that autistic youth (and adults) need to be recognized as a priority group for suicide prevention efforts.”
Leveling Up Regulatory Support Through Community Collaboration
Laurent, A. C., & Fede, J. (2021) · Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups · doi:10.1044/2020_persp-20-00197 · Cited by 5
Narishige, R., Otaka, Y., & Tateno, A. (2024) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-024-06234-9 · Cited by 8
Kirby, A. V., Feldman, K. J. C., Clark, W., Darlington, A. N., Atisme, A., Duncan-Ishcomer, B., Kripke-Ludwig, R., Joyce, A., Lee, W. V., Rodriguez, K., et al. (2025) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613251368019 · Cited by 7
“Existing studies point to high rates of co-occurring psychiatric conditions, especially depression, associated with suicidality (Bentum et al., 2024; Cassidy et al., 2014; Hand et al., 2020; Hedley et al., 2018); furthermore, Chen et al. (2017) revealed significant elevations in risk even after…”
Sazzed, S. (2025) · International Journal of Medical Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2025.106110 · Cited by 6
Old Age in Adults with ASD: Psychosocial Aspects—a Systematic Review
Parchomiuk, M. (2021) · Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s40489-020-00229-4 · Cited by 7
Ellison, K. S., Jarzabek, E., Jackson, S. L. J., Naples, A. J., & McPartland, J. C. (2022) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05575-2 · Cited by 5
“As in typical development, being male and an older adolescent constitute risk factors associated with SI in ASD (Brent et al., 1999; Cassidy et al., 2014; Mayes et al., 2013; McDonnell et al., 2020).”
An attempted “suicide pact” in Covid-19 era – psychiatric perspectives
Nardi, B., Prete, L. D., Amatori, G., Carpita, B., Carmassi, C., Pompili, M., & Dell’Osso, L. (2022) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-022-04333-z · Cited by 6
Mood Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Postorino, V., Vicari, S., & Mazzone, L. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-29695-1_1 · Cited by 6
Delayed prefrontal hemodynamic response associated with suicide risk in autism spectrum disorder
Ota, T., Iida, J., Okazaki, K., Ishida, R., Takahashi, M., Okamura, K., Yamamuro, K., Kishimoto, N., Kimoto, S., Yasuda, Y., et al. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112971 · Cited by 6
Jean, F. A. M., Jouni, A., Bouvard, M. P., Camelot, G., Beggiato, A., Scheid, I., Gaman, A., Bouquet, C., Moal, M. L.-L., Houenou, J., et al. (2021) · Advances in Autism · doi:10.1108/aia-08-2020-0048 · Cited by 6
McKernan, E. P., & Russo, N. N. (2023) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-023-05944-5 · Cited by 7
“Indeed, the extant literature denotes high prevalence of depression and anxiety in autistic individuals (Buck et al., 2014; Cassidy et al., 2014; Hofvan-der et al., 2009; Lugnegard et al., 2011), with rates that are greater than that seen in the general population (Croen et al., 2015; Joshi et al.,…”
Kildahl, A. N., Langjord, T., Pedersen, G., Hove, O., Urnes, Ø., Torgersen, T., Eikenæs, I. U.-M., & Kvarstein, E. H. (2025) · Nordic Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/08039488.2025.2497820 · Cited by 8
“In line with this, the risk of poor mental health, including self-harm and suicidal ideation, appears to be higher among individuals who are adept at masking/camouflaging their autism [31–33], as well as among individuals who are diagnosed at an older age [18,34,35].”
Autism, bullying, and mental health: a comprehensive systematic review
Daghustani, W. H., Hamza, E. A., Hogg, R. C., & Moustafa, A. A. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1653663 · Cited by 9
Prevalence and profile of depressive mixed state in patients with autism spectrum disorder
Zamami, Y., Shinzato, H., Kurihara, K., Koda, M., Nakamura, A. M., & Kondo, T. (2021) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113932 · Cited by 5
Huysamen, M., Kourti, M., & Hatton, C. (2022) · Critical Social Policy · doi:10.1177/02610183221142216 · Cited by 5
“…can mitigate lone-liness, act as a protective factor against the risk of suicide, and are proven to improve mental health outcomes and people ’ s overall sense of well-being (Ballester et al., 2012; Byers et al., 2013; Cassidy et al., 2014; Hedley et al., 2019; Hirvikoski et al., 2016).”
Background“I Have a Different Perspective as I Am Working Through This”
DeThorne, L. S., Pierce, K., Rang, M., Schafer, S., VanRyswyk, K., & Angulo-Jiménez, H. (2024) · Topics in Language Disorders · doi:10.1097/tld.0000000000000333 · Cited by 5
“…them avoid discrimination and victimization, masking has also been associated with autistic burnout, anxiety, depression, and suicide (Bradley et al., 2021; Cage & Troxell-Whitman, 2019; Cassidy et al., 2014; Hollocks et al., 2018; Hull et al., 2021; Mantzalas et al., 2022; Miller et al., 2021).”
BackgroundNegative Peer Experiences in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Adams, R. E., Bishop, S. L., & Taylor, J. L. (2017) · International review of research in developmental disabilities · doi:10.1016/bs.irrdd.2017.07.003 · Cited by 5
Garrett, C. (2022) · Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie · doi:10.1007/s11620-021-00638-5 · Cited by 6
“Research indicates that identifying positively with an autistic identity mediates the relationship between self-esteem and mental health difficulties; this suggests that personal acceptance of autism as part of one’s identity could protect against depression and anxiety (Cooper et al. 2017).”
BackgroundMizael, T. M., & Ridi, C. C. F. (2022) · Perspectivas em Análise do Comportamento · doi:10.18761/veem.457613 · Cited by 11
Mournet, A. M., Bal, V. H., & Kleiman, E. M. (2023) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2023.2252027 · Cited by 5
“Cassidy et al. (2014) found that 66% of autistic adults reported suicidal ideation and 35% reported suicide attempts.”
Commentary: Suicide risk is high, but often overlooked, in autistic spectrum disorder populations
Curtis, L. T. (2022) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13627 · Cited by 5
Editorial: Internalizing disorders in individuals with autism spectrum disorder
Postorino, V., Mazzone, L., & Reaven, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1112633 · Cited by 5
Autism, Physical Health Conditions, and a Need for Reform
Weir, E. M. (2023) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5639 · Cited by 5
“13,14 A study from 2022 illustrated that for every 10 nonautistic people who endorsed the following statements, only 2 autistic people affirmed that they (1) could describe how their symptoms feel in their body, (2) could describe how their pain feels, (3) could explain what their symptoms are, (4) usually understand…”
BackgroundAnderson, M. P., Quinton, R., Kelly, K., Falzon, A., Halladay, A., Schumann, C. M., Hof, P. R., Tamminga, C. A., Hare, C. K., & Amaral, D. G. (2021) · Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine · doi:10.5858/arpa.2020-0164-ra · Cited by 4
Carpita, B., Nardi, B., Giovannoni, F., Felice, C. D., Tranchese, F., Bonelli, C., Massimetti, G., Cremone, I. M., Pini, S., Muscatello, M. R. A., et al. (2025) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci15040340 · Cited by 4
“Moreover, an expanding body of research indicates that individuals with autism spectrum are at a heightened risk of suicidal thoughts, planning, attempts and, tragically, suicide [31–36].”
Suicide Prevention Interventions and Supports for the Autistic Community: A Scoping Review
Russell, A., Rainbow, E., Cremen, C., & Melia, R. (2025) · Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s40489-025-00535-9 · Cited by 4
Suicide risk with ASD traits or ADHD traits in non-clinical young adults
Sun, Y., Huang, Z., Xu, S., Wang, Y., Wang, J., Chang, L., Li, W., Wang, Y., Qu, D., & Chen, R. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-024-03578-1 · Cited by 6
“Another plausible explanation lies in the fact that our study focuses on the autistic traits within a non-clinical university student without the diagnoses; and several researchers already indicated that ASD symptom severity may be positively associated with the level of STBs (Cassidy et al. 2014).”
Psychopathologies Associated with ASD: Anxiety, OCD, Depression, and ADHD
Braconnier, M. L., Garza, I., & Moskowitz, L. J. (2022) · Autism and child psychopathology series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88538-0_2 · Cited by 4
Rosen, T. E., Rodriguez-Seijas, C. A., Gadow, K. D., & Lerner, M. D. (2022) · Research in Autism · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2024.102413 · Cited by 4
Addressing suicidality in autistic youth: Implications for school mental health professionals
Rodriguez, G., Holmberg, D. R., Fredrick, A., & Stadelman, S. (2024) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.23273 · Cited by 4
Hedley, D., Uljarević, M., Bury, S. M., Haschek, A., Richdale, A. L., Trollor, J. N., & Stokes, M. A. (2024) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-024-06489-x · Cited by 4
“Similarly, the association between depression and suicidal behavior is relatively well established in studies involving autistic participants (Cassidy et al., 2014; Hedley et al., 2018a; South et al., 2020).”
Dudas, R. B., & Cheney, L. B. (2025) · American Journal of Psychotherapy · doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20230049 · Cited by 4
Paris, K., Lodestone, A. “., Houser, M., & Lewis, L. F. (2025) · Autism in Adulthood · doi:10.1089/aut.2024.0193 · Cited by 7
“44,45 Since many Autistic people describe camou fl aging as an important part of maintaining safety, 46 – 48 our fi ndings suggest that in some cases, shut-downs may be a trauma response to the danger experienced when camou fl aging is no longer possible.”
Antezana, L., Conner, C. M., Eldeeb, S. M., Turecki, S. C., Siegel, M. S., Karim, H. T., & Mazefsky, C. A. (2025) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291725000637 · Cited by 4
A Computational Approach for Analysing Autistic Behaviour During Dyadic Interactions
Çeliktutan, O., Wu, W., Vogeley, K. T., & Georgescu, A. L. (2023) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-37660-3_12 · Cited by 4
“Diagnosis delays however mean delays in accessing essential health care and social support services which significantly contributes to people’s mental health comorbidities [6].”
BackgroundTranstorno do espectro autista e envelhecimento: uma revisão narrativa
Lin, J., Gaiato, M. H. B., Zotesso, M. C., Silveira, R. D. R., & Ferreira, L. (2023) · Revista Remecs - Revista Multidisciplinar de Estudos Científicos em Saúde · doi:10.24281/rremecs2023.8.14.3-11 · Cited by 6
Tollerfield, I., Chapman, H. M., & Lovell, A. (2021) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05092-8 · Cited by 4
Depression bei Erwachsenen mit Autismus-Spektrum-Störung
Albantakis, L., Parpart, H. M., Thaler, H., Krankenhagen, M., Böhm, J., Zillekens, I. C., & Schilbach, L. (2018) · Nervenheilkunde · doi:10.1055/s-0038-1670568 · Cited by 4
“Allerdings äußerten deutlich mehr Patienten mit ASS in dieser Studie (66%), in ihrem Leben bereits Suizidgedanken entwickelt zu haben (16).”
BackgroundSearle, R., & Rice, C. (2018) · Pure (Coventry University) · Cited by 4
Mack, J. A. (2019) · Scholarship & Creative Works - Digital UNC a service of University Libraries (University of Northern Colorado) · Cited by 4
Waddell, M. M. (2020) · Journal of Disability & Religion · doi:10.1080/23312521.2019.1694463 · Cited by 3
“Intriguingly, Cassidy et al. (2014) also speculated that the late diagnosis of Asperger syndrome in their cohort (mean age ¼ 31 years) might have contributed to the high rates of suicidal ideation, noting that many of these individuals had difficulties such as social exclusion, unfulfilled…”
InfluentialAdachi, M., Takahashi, M., & Mori, H. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1566098 · Cited by 3
Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Among Self-Medicating Autistic Adults
Papadopoulos, C., Adkin, T., Munday, K., & Gray-Hammond, D. (2025) · Neurodiversity · doi:10.1177/27546330251344453 · Cited by 3
“Cassidy et al. (2014) conducted a large-scale study revealing that 66% of autistic adults reported experiencing suicidal thoughts, and 35% had planned or attempted suicide.”
InfluentialFayena, E., Horesh, D., Haruvi-Lamdan, N., & Golan, O. (2025) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-025-07056-8 · Cited by 3
Andresen, J., Jeppesen, A. C. E., Due, A. S., Mariegaard, L. S., Parvaiz, R., Hjorthøj, C. R., Pinkham, A. E., Nordentoft, M., Letnar, G., Jepsen, J. R. M., et al. (2025) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/72854 · Cited by 3
Patterns in Medication Use for Treatment of Depression in Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Argonis, R. A., Pedapati, E. V., Dominick, K. C., Harris, K., Lamy, M., Fosdick, C., Schmitt, L., Shaffer, R. C., Smith, E. G., Will, M., et al. (2023) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-023-06126-z · Cited by 3
“Therefore, MDD may be underdiagnosed in autistic individuals with ID and/ or significant expressive language deficits (Cassidy et al., 2014; Cassidy & Rogers, 2017; Magnuson & Constantino, 2011).”
Musich, F. M., Berardo, C., & Aragón-Daud, A. (2024) · Vertex Revista Argentina de Psiquiatría · doi:10.53680/vertex.v35i163.526 · Cited by 3
Traumatic Experiences, Psychological Distress and Suicide‐Related Behaviors in Autistic Adults
Chikaura, T., Weir, E. M., Griffiths, S., Procyshyn, T. L., Pelton, M., Allison, C. L., Hodges, H., White, S. R., Ford, T. J., & Baron‐Cohen, S. (2025) · Autism Research · doi:10.1002/aur.70137 · Cited by 4
Self-citationEe, J. P., Lim, J. M., Kroese, B. S., & Rose, J. (2021) · Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities · doi:10.1111/jppi.12392 · Cited by 3
Transforming the Well-Being of Persons with Autism
Gutstein, S. E., & Sheely, R. K. (2023) · Psychoanalytic Inquiry · doi:10.1080/07351690.2023.2185062 · Cited by 3
“Cassidy and colleagues (Cassidy et al., 2014) found that 35% of young adults with Autism reported they had planned or attempted suicide.”
BackgroundFactor analysis of the autism spectrum screening questionnaire in a population-based child sample
Junttila, M., Jussila, K. K., Joskitt, L., Ebeling, H. E., Kielinen, M., Loukusa, S., Miettunen, J., Mäntymaa, M., & Mattila, M. (2023) · Nordic Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/08039488.2023.2225060 · Cited by 4
Metadata
- Authors
- Cassidy, S., Bradley, P., Robinson, J., Allison, C., McHugh, M., & Baron-Cohen, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cassidy, Sarah
- Venue
- The Lancet Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-07
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 142-147
- ISSN
- 2215-0366 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2126021938
- Cited by
- 432
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 65 · 2019: 44 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 21.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Lancet Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Coventry University Open Collections (Coventry university) (submittedVersion)
- The Open Collections (Coventry University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Down syndrome and intellectual disability research
- Keywords
- Asperger syndrome, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, suicide planning, depression, autistic traits, empathy, suicide risk factors, social isolation, unemployment, social exclusion, secondary depression, psychiatric comorbidity
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