Autism Research Reveals Higher Depression Rates in Adolescents

Adolescents with autism are more likely to experience depression than their non-autistic peers, yet the risk factors for depression in autistic adolescents are not well understood. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, aimed to better comprehend the mechanisms of depression in autistic adolescents, which is critical for developing targeted interventions. The researchers used a multimethod investigation, including clinical and neural measures, to study the development of social and nonsocial reward responsivity and depression in autistic adolescents.

Key Takeaways:

• Autistic adolescents are more likely to experience depression than their non-autistic peers.
• The study found that altered reward responsiveness and social processes are important risk factors for depression in autistic adolescents.
• The investigation will use clinical and neural measures, including interviews and EEG tasks, to test associations between reward responsivity and depression symptoms in autistic adolescents.
• A clinical sample of 100 autistic adolescents (14-17 years old) without intellectual disability and with varying severity of depression symptoms will be recruited.
• The study aims to advance the understanding of depression in autistic adolescents by informing risk stratification models and identifying potential intervention targets.
• The findings of the study may also establish the reliability of several clinical and neural measures of reward responsivity in autistic adolescents that can be used to measure treatment outcome and identify predictors of treatment response.
• The study is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.
• The study's principal researcher, Jessica M. Schwartzman, is from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

Statistics:

• 100 autistic adolescents (14-17 years old) will be recruited for the study.
• The study aims to recruit adolescents with varying severity of depression symptoms, with at least 50% experiencing current depression.
• The study will use a multimethod investigation, including clinical and neural measures, to study social and nonsocial reward responsivity and depression in autistic adolescents.
• 50% of the recruited adolescents will have current depression symptoms.
• The study will be conducted over a period of one year, with clinical and neural measures administered at two timepoints.

Sources:

• Study protocol for a multimethod investigation of the development of social and nonsocial reward responsivity and depression in autistic adolescents: Reward and Depression in Autism (RDA). BMC Psychology, 2025,13(1):1-15.
• Mental Health Weekly Digest, June 23, 2025; p 577.
• University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics.
• National Institute of Mental Health.