Examining the Role of Social Connection in Suicide Risk for Older Autistic Adults: A Mixed Methods Study

项目摘要 自杀是自闭症成年人过早死亡的主要原因之一。自闭症成年人更有可能 考虑，尝试，并死于自杀比非自闭症成年人。了解自杀想法和行为 (STB)自闭症研究是自闭症患者、资助者、机构间自闭症协调组织 委员会（IACC）和自闭症科学期刊。尽管风险增加，但人们对影响其健康的因素知之甚少。 预测自闭症患者的STB。在一般人群中，老年人的自杀率最高， 所有其他年龄组。社会脱节是老年人STB的一个公认的危险因素。至今没有 一项研究将这种联系扩展到了老年自闭症患者。 老年自闭症患者是一个不断增长的人口，他们的需求已被强调为一个紧迫的研究 要务在老年非自闭症成年人中观察到的更大的社会孤立可能是反映， 在自闭症中加剧：自闭症成年人，在整个生命周期中，报告感到社会孤立和孤独。给定 孤独症中STB和自杀死亡率增加， 在一般人群中，老年自闭症患者可能更容易受到社会关系之间的联系的影响。 隔离和STB。 为了响应RFA-MH-22-136，我们将采用一种新的混合方法来表征 STB和社会脱节之间的关系，在多个维度（结构，功能， 定性），在老年自闭症成人（55岁及以上）。我们将招募40名老年自闭症患者和25名非自闭症患者 老年人，对女性的过度抽样，考虑到自闭症女性中STB升高的报告， 老年非自闭症男性和女性中STB与社会脱节之间的关系R21有三个 目的：（1）检验社会脱节的多个维度（结构、功能、质量）如何预测 老年自闭症和非自闭症成年人的STB;（2）确定出生时性别分配如何影响关系 在老年自闭症和非自闭症成年人中，社会脱节与STB之间的关系;（3）探索社会脱节与STB之间的关系。 不同类型活动的重要性以及社会和社区联系及其与STB使用的关系 深入的定性数据。 该R21直接符合RFA-MH-22-126的目标和NIMH老年医学的重点领域， 老化过程研究分支和NIMH战略目标2和3。此外，该R21结合了两个优先级 自闭症研究领域：了解自闭症的STB和衰老。该项目的数据将描述 跨多个维度的社会脱节是老年人STB的潜在风险因素， 提供我们可以开始制定有效和可扩展干预措施的可操作领域 弱势群体。

PROJECT SUMMARY Suicide is one of the leading causes of premature death for autistic adults. Autistic adults are more likely to consider, attempt, and die by suicide than non-autistic adults. Understanding suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in autism is a top research priority for autistic individuals, funders, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), and autism scientific journals. Despite the increased risk, little is known about factors that predict STB in autistic people. In the general population, older adults have the highest rates of suicide relative to all other age groups. Social disconnection is a well-established risk factor for STB in older adults. To date, no study has extended this association to older autistic adults. Older autistic adults are a growing population and their needs have been highlighted as an urgent research priority. The greater social isolation observed in older non-autistic adults is likely mirrored and potentially exacerbated in autism: autistic adults, across the lifespan, report feeling socially isolated and lonely. Given increased rates of STB and death by suicide in autism and the increased rates of suicide observed with older age in the general population, older autistic adults may be doubly vulnerable to the associations between social isolation and STB. In response to RFA-MH-22-136, we will employ a novel mixed-methods approach to characterize the relationship between STB and social disconnection, across multiple dimensions (structural, functional, qualitative), in older autistic adults (aged 55 and older). We will recruit 40 older autistic adults and 25 non-autistic older adults, oversampling for females given reports of heightened STB in autistic females and the differential relationship between STB and social disconnection in older non-autistic males and females. This R21 has three aims: (1) Examine how multiple dimensions (structural, functional, qualitative) of social disconnection predict STB in older autistic and non-autistic adults; (2) Determine how assigned sex at birth impacts the relationship between social disconnection and STB in older autistic and non-autistic adults; and (3) Explore the relative importance of different types of activities and social and community connections and their relation to STB using in-depth qualitative data. This R21 directly aligns with the goals of RFA-MH-22-126 and the focus areas of the NIMH Geriatrics and Aging Processes Research Branch and NIMH Strategic Goals 2 and 3. Further, this R21 combines two priority areas for autism research: understanding STB and aging in autism. Data from this project will characterize how social disconnections across multiple dimensions serve as potential risk factors for STB in older adults and will provide actionable areas for which we can begin to develop effective and scalable interventions for this vulnerable population.