Examining the Role of Social Connection in Suicide Risk for Older Autistic Adults: A Mixed Methods Study

检查社会联系在老年自闭症成人自杀风险中的作用：一项混合方法研究

• 批准号: 10727637
• 负责人: Dara V Chan
• 金额: $ 42.39万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10727637
• 关键词: 3-Dimensional; Address; Adult; Age; Aging; Area; COVID-19 pandemic effects; Cessation of life; Communities; Data; Death Rate; Development; Diagnosis; Dimensions; Educational workshop; Elderly; Feeling; Feeling suicidal; Female; General Population; Geriatrics; Goals; Intervention; Interview; Journals; Knowledge; Link; Loneliness; Longevity; Maps; Measures; Mental Health; Mental disorders; Methods; National Institute of Mental Health; Patient Self-Report; Persons; Population; Predictive Factor; Prevention; Process; Reporting; Research; Research Priority; Risk; Risk Factors; Role; Sampling; Sex Ratio; Social Perception; Social Sciences; Social isolation; Social support; Source; Suicide; Suicide prevention; Travel; Vulnerable Populations; Woman; adult with autism spectrum disorder; age group; aged; autism spectrum disorder; autistic; diaries; experience; high reward; high risk; human old age (65+); improved; individuals with autism spectrum disorder; innovation; male; men; neglect; novel; premature; public health relevance; recruit; response; rural setting; sex; sex assigned at birth; social; social relationships; sociodemographic factors; suicidal behavior; suicidal morbidity; suicidal risk; suicide rate

PROJECT SUMMARY Suicide is one of the leading causes of premature death for autistic adults. Autistic adults are more likely to consider, attempt, and die by suicide than non-autistic adults. Understanding suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in autism is a top research priority for autistic individuals, funders, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), and autism scientific journals. Despite the increased risk, little is known about factors that predict STB in autistic people. In the general population, older adults have the highest rates of suicide relative to all other age groups. Social disconnection is a well-established risk factor for STB in older adults. To date, no study has extended this association to older autistic adults. Older autistic adults are a growing population and their needs have been highlighted as an urgent research priority. The greater social isolation observed in older non-autistic adults is likely mirrored and potentially exacerbated in autism: autistic adults, across the lifespan, report feeling socially isolated and lonely. Given increased rates of STB and death by suicide in autism and the increased rates of suicide observed with older age in the general population, older autistic adults may be doubly vulnerable to the associations between social isolation and STB. In response to RFA-MH-22-136, we will employ a novel mixed-methods approach to characterize the relationship between STB and social disconnection, across multiple dimensions (structural, functional, qualitative), in older autistic adults (aged 55 and older). We will recruit 40 older autistic adults and 25 non-autistic older adults, oversampling for females given reports of heightened STB in autistic females and the differential relationship between STB and social disconnection in older non-autistic males and females. This R21 has three aims: (1) Examine how multiple dimensions (structural, functional, qualitative) of social disconnection predict STB in older autistic and non-autistic adults; (2) Determine how assigned sex at birth impacts the relationship between social disconnection and STB in older autistic and non-autistic adults; and (3) Explore the relative importance of different types of activities and social and community connections and their relation to STB using in-depth qualitative data. This R21 directly aligns with the goals of RFA-MH-22-126 and the focus areas of the NIMH Geriatrics and Aging Processes Research Branch and NIMH Strategic Goals 2 and 3. Further, this R21 combines two priority areas for autism research: understanding STB and aging in autism. Data from this project will characterize how social disconnections across multiple dimensions serve as potential risk factors for STB in older adults and will provide actionable areas for which we can begin to develop effective and scalable interventions for this vulnerable population.

项目概要 自杀是成人自闭症患者过早死亡的主要原因之一。成人自闭症患者更有可能 与非自闭症成年人相比，他们考虑、尝试自杀和自杀。了解自杀想法和行为 自闭症研究（STB）是自闭症患者、资助者、机构间自闭症协调机构的首要研究重点 委员会（IACC）和自闭症科学期刊。尽管风险增加，但我们对影响因素知之甚少 预测自闭症患者的 STB。在一般人群中，老年人的自杀率最高 所有其他年龄段。社交脱节是老年人发生性传播疾病的一个公认的危险因素。迄今为止，没有 研究将这种关联扩展到老年自闭症患者。 老年自闭症患者的人口不断增长，他们的需求已成为一项紧急研究 优先事项。在老年非自闭症成人中观察到的更大的社会孤立可能是镜像的，并且可能是 自闭症加剧：自闭症成年人在整个生命周期中都报告感到社会孤立和孤独。给定 自闭症患者的 STB 率和自杀死亡率增加，以及老年人的自杀率增加 与一般人群的年龄相比，老年自闭症患者可能更容易受到社会 隔离和机顶盒。 为了响应 RFA-MH-22-136，我们将采用一种新颖的混合方法来表征 STB 与社会脱节之间的关系在多个维度（结构、功能、 质），在老年自闭症成人（55 岁及以上）中。我们将招募 40 名老年自闭症患者和 25 名非自闭症患者 老年人，鉴于自闭症女性 STB 升高的报告以及差异，对女性进行过度采样 老年非自闭症男性和女性的 STB 与社会脱节之间的关系。这款 R21 有 3 个 目标：（1）研究社会脱节的多个维度（结构、功能、定性）如何预测 老年自闭症和非自闭症成人的 STB； (2) 确定出生时指定的性别如何影响关系 老年自闭症和非自闭症成人的社交脱节与 STB 之间的关系； (3)探索相关的 不同类型的活动以及社会和社区联系的重要性及其与机顶盒使用的关系 深入的定性数据。 该 R21 直接符合 RFA-MH-22-126 的目标以及 NIMH 老年病学和 老化过程研究部门和 NIMH 战略目标 2 和 3。此外，该 R21 结合了两个优先事项 自闭症研究领域：了解自闭症的 STB 和衰老。该项目的数据将描述如何 多个维度的社会脱节是老年人发生性传播疾病的潜在危险因素，并且会 提供可采取行动的领域，我们可以开始为此制定有效且可扩展的干预措施 弱势群体。