Trauma and PTSD Symptoms: exploring the experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults in midlife and old age

Objectives Autistic children and young adults have been found to experience high rates of traumatic life experiences and symptoms of PTSD when compared to their non-autistic peers. However, despite the lifelong nature of autism and evidence that trauma and PTSD can impact people of all ages, these issues have yet to be studied in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Methods This pre-registered study used data from the second wave of the AgeWellAutism study (autistic n = 469, non-autistic n = 183; aged 40 to 90, mean = ~ 60 years; ~55% female). Participants completed widely used and standardised measures of childhood and adulthood trauma, and symptoms of PTSD. Results The autistic group, and particularly autistic women and people in middle-age, reported significantly higher rates of childhood and adulthood trauma, including emotional and physical abuse/neglect and sexual abuse [ORs = 2 ~ 6]. The autistic group reported more PTSD symptoms than the non-autistic comparison group. PTSD symptoms showed stronger associations with childhood and adulthood trauma in the autistic vs. non-autistic group. Autism group remained a significant predictor of PTSD symptom score variance when controlling for differences in reported trauma. Conclusions These findings suggest that autistic adults are at higher risk for trauma and developing symptoms of PTSD than their non-autistic peers. Longitudinal studies are required to investigate how trauma risk and impact and subsequent PTSD symptoms change with age in middle-aged and older autistic adults. This study underscores the need to develop evidence-based interventions to prevent trauma throughout the lifespan and address PTSD symptoms in autistic populations as they age.