Suicide risk in transition-aged autistic youth: The link among executive function, depression, and autistic traits.

The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that depression or executive-function challenges caused suicide risk. Executive function was measured by parent report, not by the young people themselves. The P4 asks about harming oneself, and clinicians had to screen out non-suicidal self-harm; the authors say results need replication with a more discerning measure. The suicide screener was not designed and validated specifically for autistic individuals. There was no general population comparison group, so the prevalence rates cannot be compared directly with non-autistic youth from the same setting. IQ data were missing for many participants, and the IQ analysis included only 102 people and was treated as post hoc. Seven participants had missing autism-trait data, and 36.1% declined to disclose ethnicity. The sample was drawn from a transition programme and was 73.2% male, so it may not represent all autistic youth.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding came from the UNC Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center through the NICHD, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Do not conclude that executive-function problems cause suicidal thoughts or that executive-function training will reduce suicide risk. This was a cross-sectional baseline study, and the authors say future studies are needed to test EF interventions.