Abstract
The current study explored whether people who camouflage autistic traits are more likely to experience thwarted belongingness and suicidality, as predicted by the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS). 160 undergraduate students (86.9% female, 18–23 years) completed a cross-sectional online survey from 8th February to 30th May 2019 including self-report measures of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, autistic traits, depression, anxiety, camouflaging autistic traits, and lifetime suicidality. Results suggest that camouflaging autistic traits is associated with increased risk of experiencing thwarted belongingness and lifetime suicidality. It is important for suicide theories such as the IPTS to include variables relevant to the broader autism phenotype, to increase applicability of models to both autistic and non-autistic people.
Highlights
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged between 20 and 34 years in the UK (ONS 2015)
Gap, research has started to explore the applicability of suicide theories developed for the general population to autistic people,1 and how such theories could incorporate new psychological constructs to increase our understanding of suicide in the general population (Cassidy, in press; Pelton and Cassidy 2017)
This suggests that the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) could help explain why autistic people and those with high autistic traits are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviours
Summary
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged between 20 and 34 years in the UK (ONS 2015). Understanding and preventing suicide is highly complex and challenging, involving a combination of biological, environmental and psychological factors (Townsend 2019; O’Connor and Nock 2014; Walter and Pridmore 2012; World Health Organization 2012). There is little research into what drives the associations between autistic traits with suicidal thoughts and behaviours, to help inform new suicide prevention strategies (Cassidy and Rodgers 2017).
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