Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how the presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Asperger Disorder (AS) diagnostic labels affects stigma toward ASD and its relationship to knowledge of ASD among university students. Questionnaire-based surveys were conducted on 346 university students. They rated their stigma on two vignettes that described students who met ASD symptom criteria (restriction of interest, difficulty in social interaction) and were asked to label as "ASD condition," "AS condition," or "No diagnostic condition." Results showed no differences in scores on stigma across the three labels. Subsequently, we explored the influence of knowledge about ASD on the degree of stigma toward people with diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions. Findings showed that a lower score on stigma toward a diagnostic condition was associated with a higher knowledge of the condition in both cases. Based on these findings, it is suggested that stigma toward ASD was not influenced by diagnostic labels alone, but is more influenced by the relationship between the presence of diagnostic labels and level of knowledge about ASD.
Authors: Taniguchi, Aya, Yamane, Takahiro
Language: Japanese
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7145742466