The transition into adulthood is a challenging time, especially as 75% of mental illness develop before the age of 18. For autistic individuals this stage of life presents even greater challenges which increases the likelihood of mental ill-health.
Mental health conditions are prevalent among autistic individuals. Many of these conditions develop as adolescents begin to transition into adulthood, however it is largely unknown why this is the case. Whilst there are many contributing factors, we know very little about whether the challenges autistic people face in the earlier part of adulthood have a longer-term effect on what happens to them as adults.
This project aims to examine why transitioning to adulthood is so difficult for autistic individuals, and what the longer-term consequences of these difficulties might be.
Through study of vast data on genetics and family history, this research will define genetic factors linked with autism using polygenic scores and test their association with educational, occupational and health challenges from autistic individuals aged 18-24.
Additionally this study will examine the different challenges faced by young women with autism compared to young men.
This is an interdisciplinary approach uniting contemporary methods and concepts from epidemiology, behavioural genetics and lifespan psychology.
Furthermore, this project adopts an approach known as neurodiversity meaning it will aim to identify the ways in which wider society could adapt to include autistic people rather than trying to cure autism or put pressure on autistic individuals to change their behaviour. This project aims to contribute to this movement by better understanding the additional challenges that autistic individuals face, so that they be less stigmatised and more included in society.
Impact areas (how does it improve people’s lives):
– Better understanding: what factors influence mental health challenges in people with autism, and what long term impact do those factors have
– Better detection: these findings have potential to clarify which adults with autism may need more intensive support
– Better prevention: these findings to enable targeted prevention for people at particular risk
This research will go beyond simply establishing whether or not autistic individuals do face challenges that affect their mental health, but assess why they do.
This will ultimately help identify and support particularly vulnerable young people as they transition into adult life with the goal of improving their mental health and lifting barriers to their participation in society.
Dr Taylor of the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and previously of UCL and Birkbeck University.
Do natural variations in hormones, such as oestrogen, make anxiety disorders more likely? If so does this affect the way people respond to treatment?
Dr Lussier aims to determine the extent to which child and adolescent depression interacts with genetic susceptibility to influence suicide risk in early adulthood.
People with severe mental illnesses are at high risk of heart disease due to lack of physical activity and social isolation. Social prescribing can help, but is it accessible?