By Jill Pease
Autistic people are at a significantly higher risk of suicidal behaviors and death from suicide. Yet little is known about the factors that may play a role in these increased rates, which may be up to 48 times higher than people who do not have autism.
A new University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health hopes to shed light on the individual, community, mental health service delivery and policy factors that may play a role in suicide risk among autistic people.
Researchers will use comprehensive datasets to evaluate multiple factors that may be associated with suicidal behaviors, which includes suicidal thoughts and attempts, among autistic people. Importantly, they will also engage autistic stakeholders to provide input across all aspects of the project. Engaging the autism community ensures the findings can be optimally leveraged to inform suicide prevention policy and practice, said principal investigator Nicole Marlow, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in the college’s department of health services research, management and policy.
“Connecting our multilevel analyses to community perspectives will promote the development of safe, timely and beneficial recommendations for suicide prevention policy and practice in the autistic community that address multilevel risk factors,” Marlow said.
Investigators will use two national health care claims databases to identify underlying factors associated with the risk of suicidal behaviors among autistic people aged 12-64. They will also examine factors related to mental health services within this population, including the type of treatment, frequency and how it is delivered, such as face-to-face or telehealth. Next, investigators plan to present their findings to a group of autistic adults, family members and mental health providers. This autistic stakeholder team will help develop policy and practice recommendations for suicidal behavior prevention.
The study team also includes fellow principal investigators Molly Jacobs, Ph.D., an associate professor in the PHHP department of health services research, management and policy; Jessica Kramer, Ph.D., OTR/L, an associate professor in the PHHP department of occupational therapy; and Anne Kirby, Ph.D., OTR/L, an associate professor of occupational and recreational therapies at the University of Utah. Kirby leads the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education Suicide Prevention Project team of autistic stakeholders, who will be tapped for their expertise in this project.
“Partnering with diverse people with lived experience of autism and suicide behavior will promote recommendations that are relevant to the broad autistic community,” Marlow said. “This is crucial, given the limited evidence describing the autistic community’s experiences of suicide behavior and the need for rapid innovations to address risk for suicide.”