ArticleMolecular autism2024
Trajectory of depressive symptoms over adolescence in autistic and neurotypical youth.
Article in Molecular autism, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Predicting Post-School Outcomes in Autistic Young Adults One Year after High School Graduation.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in Psychopathology and Neurocognition in Community Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Socio-Demographic Associations and Frequencies of Physical Activity Participation of Autistic Adolescents Reported by Parents in Ontario, Canada.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Investigating a biopsychosocial model of depression in autistic youth: The intersection of cortisol and depressive symptoms.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences in Autistic and Neurotypical Girls.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Developmental Pathways From Childhood Neurodevelopmental Traits to Early Adolescent Psychiatric Dimensions: The Role of Environmental and Lifestyle Factors.JAACAP open · 2026Article
- Exploring Trajectories of Anxiety Symptoms in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth over Adolescence Using Parent- and Self-Report Measures.Research in autism · 2026Article
- Article
- Commentary: Interpreting diagnostic data on autism and gender dysphoria: clinical and research implications - a commentary on Sanders et al. (2025).Child and adolescent mental health · 2026Article
- From risk to resilience: a narrative overview of modifiable factors influencing depression in children with autism spectrum disorder (part I).Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Autism in Adulthood: Psychiatric Comorbidity in High-Functioning Autistic Adults in an Outpatient Clinical Population.NeuroSci · 2025Article
- Study protocol for a multimethod investigation of the development of social and nonsocial reward responsivity and depression in autistic adolescents: Reward and Depression in Autism (RDA).BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The intersection and developmental trajectory of morning cortisol and testosterone in autistic and neurotypical youth.Molecular autism · 2025Article
- Pubertal developmental, body mass index, and cardiovascular autonomic function in children and adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder: a four-time point accelerated longitudinal study.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAdolescence coincides with a dramatic rise in the onset of psychiatric conditions including depression. Depression symptoms may be particularly prevalent and impairing for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While prior research suggests adolescence is associated with worsening depression symptoms for typically developing (TD) and autistic youth, it is unclear if they follow a similar course.
methodThe study examined the trajectory of depressive symptoms in autistic and neurotypical youth over a 4-year longitudinal study using linear and logistic mixed effects models. In youth with clinically relevant depressive scores (t-score > 65), moderating factors (i.e., diagnosis, age, puberty, sex) were explored. During Year 1, the sample included 244 youth 10-to-13 years: 140 in the ASD group (36 females) and 104 in the TD group (46 females).
resultsAutistic youth had elevated depression scores compared to TD peers (p < 0.001) and females were higher than males in both groups (p = 0.001). There was significant diagnosis by age (p < 0.001) and diagnosis by pubertal stage (p < 0.05) interactions. In the ASD group, elevated depressive scores presented in early adolescence and decreased during middle adolescence and puberty, whereas the TD group showed the opposite trend with an increase in depression symptoms with advancing development. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include an unequal sex distribution (fewer females), non-representative autistic sample (e.g., cognition and race/ethnicity), and potential confound of the COVID-19 pandemic.
conclusionsAutistic youth present with higher rates of depressive symptoms early in development; yet, approaching middle adolescence and puberty, the symptom trajectory in the autistic youth declines coinciding with an increase in the TD youth. While group trajectories are divergent, they lead to similar levels of depression in late adolescence with higher symptoms in females. Findings suggest a period of quiescence in depressive symptomology influenced by biopsychosocial factors impacting affective profiles.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.