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Background: Recent literature has shown that a considerable percentage of patients with severe mental disorders can develop, over time, full-blown or subthreshold catatonia. Some studies corroborate the model of an illness trajectory in which different mental disorders would be arranged along a continuum of severity until the development of catatonia. In such an illness pathway, autistic traits (AT) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) may represent important steps. In order to further explore the association between AT, BPD, and catatonia, the aim of this study was to compare catatonic spectrum symptoms and AT among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), BPD, and healthy controls (CTL), also evaluating possible predictive dimensions of the different diagnoses. Methods: A total of 90 adults affected by BPD, 90 adults with a diagnosis of MDD, and 90 CTL, homogeneous in terms of gender and age, were recruited from six Italian university departments of psychiatry and assessed with the SCID-5-RV, the Catatonia Spectrum (CS), and the Adult Autism Subthreshold Autism Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum). Results: The total CS score was significantly higher in the BPD and MDD groups than in the CTL group, while the majority of CS domain scores were significantly higher in the BPD group than in the MDD group, which scored significantly higher than the CTL group. The total AdAS Spectrum score and the AdAS Spectrum domain scores were significantly higher in the BPD group than in the MDD group, which in turn scored significantly higher than the CTL group. The CS domains “psychomotor activity” and “impulsivity”, and AdAS Spectrum domains “verbal communication”, “empathy”, and “hyper-/hyporeactivity to sensory input” were associated with the risk of presenting a diagnosis of BPD.

The aim of this study is to review the available literature investigating the relationship between hikikomori, a pathological condition characterized by severe social withdrawal or isolation, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Studies on the relationship between ASD and IGD have found significant positive correlations between these two conditions. Individuals with ASD would appear to be at risk of developing a problematic use of the Internet, which, to the right extent, would represent a useful tool for social interaction and cognitive development. Even subjects with hikikomori, in whom rarefied interpersonal relationships and social isolation could be balanced by the use of online connections, appear to be at high risk of developing IGD. On the other hand, the finding of significant autistic traits in populations with hikikomori could lead to considering this psychopathological condition as a particular presentation of autism spectrum, a hypothesis that requires further investigation.

(1) Background: Previous literature reported in both subjects with Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and Bipolar disorder (BD) higher levels of autistic traits, linked to a greater suicidality risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the presence of autistic traits in a sample of individuals with BD or BPD, with a specific focus on suicidality. (2) Methods: We recruited two clinical samples of subjects (BPD and BD) and a control group without a diagnosis according to DSM-5 (CTL). Subjects were assessed with the AdAS Spectrum, the RRS and, for evaluating suicidality, the MOODS-SR. (3) Results: The CTL group showed significantly lower scores of both BD and BPD on AdAS Spectrum, RRS, and suicidality scores. BPD subjects showed significantly lower scores than BD ones in most of AdAS Spectrum domain scores. Correlation and regression analyses highlighted specific patterns of association among AdAS Spectrum domains, RRS, and suicidality in each clinical group. (4) Conclusions: Both BPD and BD individuals show greater levels of autistic traits, which seem to be distributed in a continuum featuring the highest levels among BD subjects. In both disorders, higher autistic traits were linked to suicidal tendencies, although with different patterns of association between BD and BPD subjects.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with increased levels of anxiety. However, whether autism is related to heightened test anxiety as one situation-specific type of anxiety has not yet been examined. This question may be relevant for the achievement and well-being of autistic people in educational settings (e.g., at universities). In this study, we took a first step to investigate whether autistic university students have increased test anxiety. A sample of 16 German-speaking university students completed an established diagnostic instrument to measure test anxiety and its components of worry, emotionality, cognitive interference, and lack of confidence. The scores of the autistic students were compared with the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of the standardization sample for the applied test anxiety measure (n = 1350). For an additional comparison, the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of non-autistic university students (n = 101) were assessed during the last third of the semester; that is, close to the examinations. Overall, the results suggest that autistic university students have remarkably increased test anxiety. Although the present findings must be considered preliminary, they suggest that text anxiety in educational settings may be a neglected significant problem for autistic people that requires further attention in research and practice.

Background: Recent literature has shown that a considerable percentage of patients with severe mental disorders can develop, over time, full-blown or subthreshold catatonia. Some studies corroborate the model of an illness trajectory in which different mental disorders would be arranged along a continuum of severity until the development of catatonia. In such an illness pathway, autistic traits (AT) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) may represent important steps. In order to further explore the association between AT, BPD, and catatonia, the aim of this study was to compare catatonic spectrum symptoms and AT among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), BPD, and healthy controls (CTL), also evaluating possible predictive dimensions of the different diagnoses., Methods: A total of 90 adults affected by BPD, 90 adults with a diagnosis of MDD, and 90 CTL, homogeneous in terms of gender and age, were recruited from six Italian university departments of psychiatry and assessed with the SCID-5-RV, the Catatonia Spectrum (CS), and the Adult Autism Subthreshold Autism Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum)., Results: The total CS score was significantly higher in the BPD and MDD groups than in the CTL group, while the majority of CS domain scores were significantly higher in the BPD group than in the MDD group, which scored significantly higher than the CTL group. The total AdAS Spectrum score and the AdAS Spectrum domain scores were significantly higher in the BPD group than in the MDD group, which in turn scored significantly higher than the CTL group. The CS domains "psychomotor activity" and "impulsivity", and AdAS Spectrum domains "verbal communication", "empathy", and "hyper-/hyporeactivity to sensory input" were associated with the risk of presenting a diagnosis of BPD.

The aim of this study is to review the available literature investigating the relationship between hikikomori, a pathological condition characterized by severe social withdrawal or isolation, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Studies on the relationship between ASD and IGD have found significant positive correlations between these two conditions. Individuals with ASD would appear to be at risk of developing a problematic use of the Internet, which, to the right extent, would represent a useful tool for social interaction and cognitive development. Even subjects with hikikomori, in whom rarefied interpersonal relationships and social isolation could be balanced by the use of online connections, appear to be at high risk of developing IGD. On the other hand, the finding of significant autistic traits in populations with hikikomori could lead to considering this psychopathological condition as a particular presentation of autism spectrum, a hypothesis that requires further investigation.

(1) Background: Previous literature reported in both subjects with Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and Bipolar disorder (BD) higher levels of autistic traits, linked to a greater suicidality risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the presence of autistic traits in a sample of individuals with BD or BPD, with a specific focus on suicidality. (2) Methods: We recruited two clinical samples of subjects (BPD and BD) and a control group without a diagnosis according to DSM-5 (CTL). Subjects were assessed with the AdAS Spectrum, the RRS and, for evaluating suicidality, the MOODS-SR. (3) Results: The CTL group showed significantly lower scores of both BD and BPD on AdAS Spectrum, RRS, and suicidality scores. BPD subjects showed significantly lower scores than BD ones in most of AdAS Spectrum domain scores. Correlation and regression analyses highlighted specific patterns of association among AdAS Spectrum domains, RRS, and suicidality in each clinical group. (4) Conclusions: Both BPD and BD individuals show greater levels of autistic traits, which seem to be distributed in a continuum featuring the highest levels among BD subjects. In both disorders, higher autistic traits were linked to suicidal tendencies, although with different patterns of association between BD and BPD subjects.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with increased levels of anxiety. However, whether autism is related to heightened test anxiety as one situation-specific type of anxiety has not yet been examined. This question may be relevant for the achievement and well-being of autistic people in educational settings (e.g., at universities). In this study, we took a first step to investigate whether autistic university students have increased test anxiety. A sample of 16 German-speaking university students completed an established diagnostic instrument to measure test anxiety and its components of worry, emotionality, cognitive interference, and lack of confidence. The scores of the autistic students were compared with the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of the standardization sample for the applied test anxiety measure ( n = 1350). For an additional comparison, the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of non-autistic university students ( n = 101) were assessed during the last third of the semester; that is, close to the examinations. Overall, the results suggest that autistic university students have remarkably increased test anxiety. Although the present findings must be considered preliminary, they suggest that text anxiety in educational settings may be a neglected significant problem for autistic people that requires further attention in research and practice.