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 and 4 others
PMID 39078579WHAT IT FOUND
Psychological wellbeing did not buffer the link between depression and thoughts of self-harm in autistic adolescents and adults.
Instead, baseline depression and higher autistic traits independently predicted thoughts of self-harm two years later. These factors remained stable over time, suggesting early intervention is needed.
Key findings
01Psychological wellbeing did not significantly moderate the relationship between depression and thoughts of self-harm at two-year follow-up.
02Baseline autistic traits and depression were significant predictors of thoughts of self-harm two years later, even when controlling for baseline self-harm.
03There were no significant changes in wellbeing, depression, or thoughts of self-harm scores between baseline and the two-year follow-up.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had a significant dropout rate of 39.58% between baseline and follow-up. Thoughts of self-harm were assessed using a single item from the PHQ-9, which may limit the depth of assessment compared to a full suicide risk scale. The sample size was smaller than typical general population studies, which may have reduced the power to detect smaller moderation effects. Depression was measured using different scales (HADS-D and PHQ-8) across the two sub-cohorts, requiring statistical harmonization.
Declared interests
The study was funded by La Trobe University. No other specific conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the negative finding on wellbeing as evidence that wellbeing is unimportant for autistic patients. The study shows it did not statistically buffer the specific link between depression and self-harm thoughts in this model, but wellbeing was still significantly correlated with lower depression and self-harm. The lack of buffering effect may be due to the strong predictive power of depression itself, or the stability of scores over time.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →