Is er een relatie tussen alexithymie, het camoufleren van autistische trekken en suïcidaliteit?

Research into the risk factors of suicidality (suicidal thoughts, behaviors and attempts) in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has taken suggestions from research in the general population. Even though there is an overlap in risk factors, the results do not explain the higher prevalence of suicidality in individuals with ASD. Suicidality in individuals with ASD appears to be a clinically pressing issue with much uncertainty about its frequency and nature (Segers & Rawana 2014). It is possible that there may be risk factors that are different among people with ASD (Costa, 2020). Insight into the contributing factors underlying the risk of suicide in ASD is necessary to improve the assessment, prevention and treatment of suicidality in individuals with ASD. Two characteristics of ASD that could be a risk factor for suicidality are alexithymia and camouflaging autistic traits. Research has shown that both alexithymia and camouflaging autistic traits negatively affect mental health (Cassidy et al., 2014; Cassidy et al., 2018; Baldwin & Costley, 2016; Bargeila et al., 2016; Richards et al., 2019; Hull et al., 2017; Rynkiewicz, 2016; Lai et al., 2017). Hence, in this study, we aim to explore the relationship between suicidality in individuals with ASD and two possible underlying mechanisms: alexithymia and camouflaging autistic traits.