Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39078579›Full record

ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2025

Examination of the Potential Moderating Role of Psychological Wellbeing in the Relationship Between Depression and Thoughts of Self-Harm in Autistic Adolescents and Adults: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study.

Darren Hedley, Mirko Uljarević, Simon M Bury, Alexandra Haschek, Amanda L Richdale, Julian N Trollor, Mark A Stokes

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Lifetime stressor exposure is related to suicidality in autistic adults: A multinational study.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Darren HedleyOlga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. D.Hedley@latrobe.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6256-7104
Mirko UljarevićStanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7481-3923
Simon M BuryOlga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1273-9091
Alexandra HaschekOlga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2154-216X
Amanda L RichdaleOlga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4911-7181
Julian N TrollorDepartment of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7685-2977
Mark A StokesDeakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6488-4544

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAutistic people have a significantly increased risk of death by suicide relative to the general population. In non-autistic samples, psychological wellbeing has been shown to moderate the relationship between depression and suicidal thoughts and behavior. Thoughts of self-harm may provide a useful indicator of suicidal risk. In this longitudinal study we examined (a) the potential role for psychological wellbeing to moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and thoughts of self-harm and (b) the contribution of autistic traits to thoughts of self-harm.

methodsParticipants were 209 autistic adolescents and adults aged 15 to 80 years (M

resultsAt both baseline and 2-year follow-up, 35% of participants reported recent thoughts of self-harm. Wellbeing was associated with autistic traits (r = - .350 to - 0.404) and depression (r = - .480 to - 0.759). Thoughts of self-harm were positively associated with autistic traits and depression (r = .242 to 0.659), and negatively associated with wellbeing (r = - .287 to - 0.609). Controlling for baseline thoughts of self-harm, depression (β = 0.254, p = .001) and autistic traits (β = 0.162, p = .007) significantly predicted thoughts of self-harm at 2-year follow-up.

conclusionDespite a lack of support for the hypothesis that wellbeing would moderate the relationship between depression and thoughts of self-harm, correlational data demonstrated significant associations between wellbeing and both depression and thoughts of self-harm. Future research considering psychological wellbeing as a potential protective factor for self-harm in autistic people is warranted.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderDepressionSelf-Injurious BehaviorSuicidal IdeationAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultAdolescentsAdultsAutism Spectrum DisorderAutistic traitsDepressionPositive wellbeingPsychological wellbeingSelf-harmSuicidal ideationSuicideWellbeing

Identifiers

PMID39078579
PMCPMC12575448

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Registered trials

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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.