Autism Spectrum Disorder Etiology: Lay Beliefs and the Role of Cultural Values and Social Axioms

Autor/inn/en	Qi, Xin; Zaroff, Charles M.; Bernardo, Allan B. I.
Titel	Autism Spectrum Disorder Etiology: Lay Beliefs and the Role of Cultural Values and Social Axioms
Quelle	In: Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 20 (2016) 6, S.673-686 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-3613
DOI	10.1177/1362361315602372
Schlagwörter	Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Etiology; Public Opinion; Attitudes toward Disabilities; Beliefs; Social Values; Undergraduate Students; Student Attitudes; Foreign Countries; Correlation; Genetics; Parent Influence; Predictor Variables; Measures (Individuals); Likert Scales; Regression (Statistics); China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autismus; Ätiologie; Öffentliche Meinung; Belief; Glaube; Sozialer Wert; Schülerverhalten; Ausland; Korrelation; Humangenetik; Prädiktor; Messdaten; Likert-Skala; Regression; Regressionsanalyse
Abstract	Recent research examining the explanations given by the public (i.e. lay beliefs) for autism spectrum disorder often reveals a reasonably accurate understanding of the biogenetic basis of the disorder. However, lay beliefs often manifest aspects of culture, and much of this work has been conducted in western cultures. In this study, 215 undergraduate university students in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, completed self-report measures assessing two beliefs concerning autism spectrum disorder etiology: (1) a belief in parental factors and (2) a belief in genetic factors. Potential correlates of lay beliefs were sought in culture-specific values, and more universal social axioms. Participants were significantly more likely to endorse parenting, relative to genetic factors, as etiological. A perceived parental etiology was predicted by values of mind--body holism. Beliefs in a parental etiology were not predicted by values assessing collectivism, conformity to norms, a belief in a family's ability to obtain recognition through a child's achievement, or interpersonal harmony, nor by the social axioms measured (e.g. social cynicism, reward for application, social complexity, fate control, and religiosity). Beliefs in a genetic etiology were not predicted by either culture-specific values or social axioms. Implications of the current results are discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01