Evidence suggests that youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk for experiencing a mental health crisis. Yet, limited systematic research exists on this topic. This study examines the prevalence, phenomenology, and correlates of mental health crisis in children, adolescents, and young adults with ASD. Participants included 462 parents of individuals with ASD (83% male, 86% Caucasian, M = 13.7 years, SD = 4.7) who were enrolled in the Interactive Autism Network, a large online registry of families of individuals with ASD. Parents completed the Mental Health Crisis Assessment Scale, a psychometrically sound measure of mental health crisis for youth with ASD, as well as measures of parental depression, family quality of life, and mental health treatment history. Overall, 32% of parents reported that their child had experienced a mental health crisis during the last 3 months. In the younger group, elopement (88%) and self‐injury (81%) were the most frequent behaviors contributing to crisis; physical (60%) and verbal (42%) aggression were the most frequent crisis behaviors in the older group. Correlates of crisis included younger age, increased parental depressive symptoms, and lower family quality of life. Approximately 75% of individuals in crisis had seen a psychiatrist or behavioral therapist/psychologist within the last 3 months and 25% were not engaged in any mental health treatment. In summary, mental health crises were quite prevalent in this online sample of youth with ASD. Identification and treatment of these serious events is critical to reduce morbidity in this population. Autism Res 2020, 13: 112–121. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

中文翻译：

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研究自闭症谱系障碍青年的心理健康危机。

有证据表明，患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的年轻人遭受精神健康危机的风险增加。然而，关于该主题的系统研究有限。这项研究检查了患ASD的儿童，青少年和年轻人的患病率，现象学和心理健康危机的相关性。参加者包括462名患有ASD的父母（男性83％，白人86％，M = 13.7岁，SD= 4.7）谁参加了互动自闭症网络，这是一个由ASD个体家庭组成的大型在线注册表。父母完成了《心理健康危机评估量表》，这是一项对ASD青年的心理健康危机进行心理测量的量度，以及父母抑郁，家庭生活质量和心理健康治疗史的量度。总体而言，有32％的父母报告说他们的孩子在最近3个月内经历了心理健康危机。在较年轻的人群中，私奔（88％）和自残（81％）是导致危机的最常见行为。在老年人群中，身体（60％）和口头（42％）的攻击是最常见的危机行为。危机的相关因素包括年龄较小，父母抑郁症状增加和家庭生活质量降低。在最近三个月内，约有75％处于危机中的人看过精神病医生或行为治疗师/心理学家，而25％的人未接受任何心理健康治疗。总而言之，在这个在线的ASD青年样本中，心理健康危机非常普遍。对这些严重事件的识别和治疗对于降低该人群的发病率至关重要。Autism Res 2020，13：112–121。©2019国际自闭症研究会，Wiley Periodicals，Inc.