The relationship between autism and suicide: Risk factors and potential mitigation strategies

Suicide is a major problem worldwide, but individuals with autism may be at particular risk due to multiple factors—perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belonging, and capability for suicide, according to the IPTS model for suicidality as modified by Pelton and Cassidy (2017). This article focuses on these three factors and proposes a new feature of the model: the intersection between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belonging. Existing suicide support mechanisms for young adults with autism without intellectual disability that target the main components of the model will be critiqued, and areas for further improvement will be suggested. Potential areas for future inquiry may include interdisciplinary collaboration between the autism community and researchers to identify the causes of suicide among autistic people, implement autism-specific risk assessment and suicide prevention tools, and educate clinicians and the general public about autism and suicide.