Autism is a chronic condition, arising early in childhood and characterized by two main symptoms: difficulties in social communication/interactions and repetitive behaviours. Sometimes, people with autism also have psychotic illness (e.g. hearing voices or feeling paranoid). The reasons this happens is still unknown. There are several possible explanations:
a. Specific autism-related symptoms, such as repetitive behaviours and restricted interests, might be risk factors for developing psychosis later in life,
b. Genetics of autism might predispose the affected individuals to psychosis later in life,
c. Adverse life events, frequently occurring in people with autism, such as stigmatisation or bullying, might lead to psychosis.
We will investigate these explanations using genetic, clinic and questionnaire data from the ALSPAC cohort. Understanding the reasons why some people with autism develop psychosis is an important step towards developing appropriate prevention strategies and offer adequate psychosocial support to the affected individuals and their families.