Background An emerging literature suggests that autistic adults are at increased risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts, making suicidal plans and attempts, and dying by suicide. However, few studies have investigated whether autistic traits are related to suicidal behaviour. The current study examined autistic traits in a sample of adults who reported at least one suicide attempt. Methods An online questionnaire was advertised between June and September 2017 on suicide prevention websites, research databases, and social media. Participants reported whether they had ever attempted suicide (yes/no), and if so, how many times they had attempted (once/more than once). They also reported diagnosed and suspected mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions, and completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Two hundred forty-five adults accessed the survey; 132 reported having attempted suicide and also completed the AQ. It was hypothesised that AQ total scores and subscale scores would be higher in adults who had attempted suicide more than once compared to adults who had attempted once. These hypotheses were tested using an independent samples t test, Mann-Whitney U tests, and binary logistic regression. Results Most participants were female (83.3%, male = 12.9%, other = 3.8%), and ages ranged from 18 to 65 (median = 36.00; IQR = 19.00). Total AQ scores, as well as communication and imagination subscale scores were significantly higher in adults who had attempted suicide more than once compared to adults who had attempted suicide once. Even after removing participants with diagnosed or suspected autism (n = 34), 40.6% had an AQ score indicative of clinical concern (≥ 26). Conclusions The findings suggest that high levels of autistic traits may frequently be present in adults who have attempted suicide, and that AQ scores are higher in those with a history of more than one suicide attempt. It may be possible to better identify suicide risk by screening autistic adults with mental health conditions for suicidal thoughts and behaviours, and by screening people with suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours for autism.

中文翻译：

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试图自杀的成年人的自闭症特征。

背景 新出现的文献表明，自闭症成年人出现自杀念头、制定自杀计划和企图以及死于自杀的风险增加。然而，很少有研究调查自闭症特征是否与自杀行为有关。目前的研究检查了报告至少一次自杀未遂的成年人样本中的自闭症特征。方法 2017 年 6 月至 9 月期间，在自杀预防网站、研究数据库和社交媒体上发布了一份在线问卷。参与者报告他们是否曾经尝试过自杀（是/否），如果有，他们尝试过多少次（一次/不止一次）。他们还报告了诊断和怀疑的心理健康或神经发育状况，并完成了自闭症谱商 (AQ)。245 名成年人参与了调查；132 人报告曾企图自杀并完成了 AQ。假设与尝试过一次的成年人相比，尝试过不止一次自杀的成年人的 AQ 总分和分量表得分会更高。使用独立样本 t 检验、Mann-Whitney U 检验和二元逻辑回归对这些假设进行了检验。结果 大多数参与者为女性（83.3%，男性 = 12.9%，其他 = 3.8%），年龄范围为 18 至 65 岁（中位数 = 36.00；IQR = 19.00）。与尝试过一次自杀的成年人相比，尝试过不止一次自杀的成年人的 AQ 总分以及沟通和想象分量表得分显着更高。即使在移除被诊断或疑似自闭症的参与者（n = 34）之后，40。6% 的 AQ 评分表明存在临床问题（≥ 26）。结论 研究结果表明，自杀未遂的成年人可能经常出现高水平的自闭症特征，而有不止一次自杀未遂史的人的 AQ 得分更高。通过筛查有心理健康状况的自闭症成年人的自杀念头和行为，以及筛查有自杀念头和/或行为的自闭症患者，或许可以更好地识别自杀风险。