Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29706160›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry2018

Autistic Traits and Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Self-Harm in Late Adolescence: Population-Based Cohort Study.

Iryna Culpin, Becky Mars, Rebecca M Pearson, Jean Golding, Jon Heron, Isidora Bubak, Peter Carpenter, Cecilia Magnusson, David Gunnell, Dheeraj Rai

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Article
  6. Exploring Patterns of Self-Harm in Autistic Adults Using the Card Sort Task for Self-Harm.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Iryna CulpinUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Electronic address: iryna.culpin@bristol.ac.uk.
Becky MarsUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Rebecca M PearsonUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Jean GoldingUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Jon HeronUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Isidora BubakKarolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Peter CarpenterAvon and Wiltshire Partnership National Health Service (NHS) Trust, Bristol, UK.
Cecilia MagnussonKarolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
David GunnellUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Dheeraj RaiUniversity of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Avon and Wiltshire Partnership National Health Service (NHS) Trust, Bristol, UK.
University of Bristol · GBKarolinska Institutet · SENational Health Service · GBAt Bristol · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council G9815508
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the hypothesis that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) diagnosis and traits in childhood are associated with suicidal thoughts, plans and self-harm at 16 years, and that any observed associations are explained by depression at 12 years.

methodWe examined associations between ASD diagnosis and 4 dichotomized ASD traits (social communication, pragmatic language, repetitive behavior, and sociability) with suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal plans at age 16 years in 5,031 members of the United Kingdom-based birth cohort study the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We assessed whether any associations were explained by depressive symptoms in early adolescence measured by the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire at 12 years.

resultsChildren with impaired social communication had a higher risk of self-harm with suicidal intent (relative risk [RR] = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.28-3.58), suicidal thoughts (RR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.06-1.91), and suicidal plans (RR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.09-3.47) by age 16 years as compared to those without. There was no evidence for an association between ASD diagnosis and outcomes, although these analyses were imprecise because of small numbers. There was also no evidence of an association between other autism traits and the outcomes. Approximately 32% of the total estimated association between social communication impairment and self-harm was explained by depressive symptoms at 12 years.

conclusionSocial communication impairments are an important autistic trait in relation to suicidality. Early identification and management of depression may be a preventative mechanism, and future research identifying other potentially modifiable mechanisms may lead to interventions against suicidal behavior in this high-risk group.

Indexed as

Suicidal IdeationAdolescentAutism Spectrum DisorderCohort StudiesDepressionFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMalePopulation SurveillanceSelf-Injurious BehaviorSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited Kingdomautism spectrum disorderdepressionpopulation-based studysuicidal behaviorsuicidal ideation

Identifiers

PMID29706160
PMCPMC5942156
OpenAlexW2952692995

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.