What Contributes to Stigma Towards Autistic University Students and Students with Other Diagnoses?

Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen; Daou, Nidal; Obeid, Rita; Reardon, Siobhan; Khan, Spogmay; Goldknopf, Emily J.

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04556-7

Cited by 43 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 86 publications

(120 reference statements)

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“…Although attitudes about autism may be improving (D. White et al, 2019), stigma remains common (Butler & Gillis, 2011;Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2020;Hinshaw & Stier, 2008). Stigma occurs when differences among groups are stereotyped and labeled as unfavorable, leading to social exclusion and discrimination for group members (Link & Phelan, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because attitudes about autism are highly variable among NA people (Morrison et al, 2019), recent work has begun to identify factors associated with more inclusionary attitudes, with the hope that these may serve as mechanisms for developing more accommodating social environments (Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2020;. A great deal of recent attention has focused on whether diagnostic disclosure increases acceptance of autistic differences among NA people (for a review, see Thompson-Hodgetts et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism

Jones

DeBrabander

Sasson

2021

Autism

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Non-autistic adults often hold explicit and implicit biases toward autism that contribute to personal and professional challenges for autistic people. Although previous research indicates that non-autistic adults with higher autism knowledge and familiarity express more inclusionary attitudes, it remains unclear whether training programs designed to promote autism acceptance and understanding affect subsequent implicit and explicit biases toward autism. In this study, non-autistic adults ( N = 238) completed an autism acceptance training featuring factual information and engaging first-person narratives, a general mental health training not mentioning autism, or a no-training control, then responded to surveys assessing their autism knowledge, stigma, and impressions of autistic adults, and completed a novel implicit association task about autism. Non-autistic adults in the autism acceptance training condition reported more positive impressions of autistic adults, demonstrated fewer misconceptions and lower stigma about autism, endorsed higher expectations of autistic abilities, and expressed greater social interest in hypothetical and real autistic people. However, training had no effect on implicit biases, with non-autistic adults associating autism-related labels with unpleasant personal attributes regardless of training condition. These findings suggest that the autism acceptance training program in this study, designed to increase autism knowledge and familiarity among non-autistic people, holds promise for reducing explicit but not implicit biases toward autism. Lay abstract Autistic adults face prejudice from non-autistic people. They are often judged unfairly and left out of social activities because of their differences. This can make it difficult for autistic people to make friends and find jobs. Some training programs have tried to teach autistic people to act more like non-autistic people to help them gain acceptance. Fewer have focused on teaching non-autistic people how to be more autism friendly. In this study, we used a short training video that teaches people about autism. The video was created with the help of autistic adults and included clips of real autistic people. We found that non-autistic people who watched this video had better knowledge about autism and showed more autism-friendly attitudes than those who watched a video about mental health or those who did not watch any video. They were more open to having a relationship with an autistic person and had more positive beliefs about autism. However, our video did not affect people’s unconscious attitudes about autism. People in our study connected autism with unpleasant traits, even if they had watched the autism training video. This suggests that teaching non-autistic people about autism may promote more autism-friendly attitudes, but some beliefs may be harder to change.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism

Jones

DeBrabander

Sasson

2021

Autism

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“…Moreover, specific diagnoses could have highly personalized associations within participants' social networks, which also mediated responses to diagnostic shifts. While much previous research has demonstrated the diagnostic specificity of sociocultural representations of mental illness (17)(18)(19), this is the first study to demonstrate how this variability in meaning shapes the experiences of those whose diagnostic classifications change over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…A key factor differentiating this variability in responses is the specific diagnosis in question. Different diagnostic labels activate distinct associations and stereotypes, which color the experience of being so classified (17)(18)(19). For example, being told one's feelings of agitation result from Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder may arouse divergent socioemotional responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does It Feel to Have One's Psychiatric Diagnosis Altered? Exploring Lived Experiences of Diagnostic Shifts in Adult Mental Healthcare

2022

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BackgroundThough the socio-emotional significance of psychiatric diagnoses and the frequency of transitions between diagnostic classifications are widely acknowledged, minimal research reveals how “diagnostic shifts” are subjectively experienced by psychiatric service-users.AimThis study investigated how adult service-users make sense of diagnostic shifts and their impacts on one's life.MethodsTwenty-seven people with self-reported experiences of diagnostic shifts opted into this qualitative study. Virtual narrative interviews invited participants to share their “diagnosis stories.” Interview transcripts were analyzed using narrative thematic analysis to identify common and divergent experiences across participants.ResultsDiverse experiences of diagnostic shifts were related: diagnostic shifts could both promote and undermine clinical trust, therapeutic engagement and self-understanding. The analysis suggested that shared and divergent experiences could be attributed to two dimensions of narratives: participants' Interpretations of Diagnostic Shifts and Diagnosis-Specific Factors. Regarding the former, analysis produced a typology of three possible interpretations of diagnostic shifts, which were linked with consistently different antecedents, experiences and consequences. The latter dimension captured how experiences of diagnostic shifts also hinged on the unique meanings ascribed to the specific diagnoses gained and lost, particularly in relation to their perceived severity, stigma, personal associations, and related communities.ConclusionsFindings revealed how diagnostic shifts can be experienced as both traumatic and life-enhancing, depending on their social and subjective context. Understanding the range and predictors of variable experiences of diagnostic shifts is vital for sensitive clinical practice and communication.

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“…However, there was no relationship between knowledge and behavioural intentions in this study. Given the relationship between behavioural intentions and stigma, such that lack of openness or willingness to interact with autistic individuals relates to characteristics of stigma Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2015;Nevill & White, 2011), it could be that these stigmatising attitudes are more complex and related to other variables, such as empathy and attitudes towards equality (Gillespie-Lynch et al, 2020). More research is needed in educational contexts to understand how individual characteristics contribute to educator's attitudesdoing so could help to identify specific targets for intervention.…”

Section: As Shown Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the implicit and explicit attitudes of primary school educators in Scotland towards autistic children

Cage¹,

Doyle²

2021

Preprint

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Background: Autistic children are frequently taught in mainstream schools, and it is imperative educators have appropriate knowledge and attitudes towards autism. In Scotland, policy aims for inclusion. However, there are few studies investigating Scottish educator’s knowledge and attitudes towards autism, even though these could be a barrier to inclusion.Aims: This study investigated Scottish educator’s implicit and explicit attitudes towards autistic children. We also aimed to understand the relationships between attitudes, knowledge and experience.Sample: Seventy primary school educators working in Scotland took part, with a mean age of 43. Most were female (n=64) and had on average 12 years’ experience working in schools. Methods: Participants completed a Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT), to assess implicit attitudes towards autism. They also completed two explicit attitude measures (openness to autism and cognitive attitudes), and measures of autism knowledge and level of contact.Results: Overall, participants held positive attitudes in explicit and implicit measures. Some participants (24%) expressed negative implicit attitudes. There were correlations between explicit attitudes, age and years of experience, with older, more experienced staff having more negative attitudes. In regression analyses, greater autism knowledge predicted more positive explicit cognitive attitudes towards autistic children.Conclusions: These findings indicate mostly positive attitudes in this sample. Younger educators with less experience may have more positive attitudes, perhaps reflecting societal changes in perceptions of autism. Greater knowledge predicted positive attitudes, suggesting that targeting knowledge may improve attitudes. Scotland’s policies may have the potential to support the effective inclusion of autistic pupils in schools.

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What Contributes to Stigma Towards Autistic University Students and Students with Other Diagnoses?

Cited by 43 publications

References 86 publications

Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism

Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism

How Does It Feel to Have One's Psychiatric Diagnosis Altered? Exploring Lived Experiences of Diagnostic Shifts in Adult Mental Healthcare

Investigating the implicit and explicit attitudes of primary school educators in Scotland towards autistic children

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