3.59 The Relationship Between Risk Factors of Suicidality, Alexithymia, and the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale Scores of ASD vs Typically Developing Adolescents

Abstract

There is a need for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to suicidality within the ASD population that may be different from typically developing youth as well as an improvement in the ability to effectively screen for it using a standard scale. The aims of this descriptive study were to: 1) compare the presence and number of known suicidality risk factors between adolescents with ASD and those without ASD evaluated in the emergency department and the congruence with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) score; and 2) explore whether specific aspects of alexithymia, a risk factor present in particularly high rates in the ASD population, are individually associated with the C-SSRS score.