Do Implicit and Explicit Racial Biases Influence Autism Identification and Stigma? An Implicit Association Test Study

Obeid, Rita; Bisson, Jennifer Bailey; Cosenza, Alexandra; Harrison, Ashley J.; James, Faith; Saade, Sabine; Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04507-2

Cited by 39 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Just over half of the sample had positive implicit attitudes, with approximately a quarter each either expressing neutral or negative implicit attitudes. This finding contradicts our hypothesis of neutral implicit attitudes, and contrasts studies investigating implicit attitudes in the general population (Dickter et al, 2020), but supports work by Obeid et al (2020) who noted positive implicit associations towards autism in undergraduate students. Kelly and Barnes-Holmes' (2013) study, which included a small sample of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) tutors and mainstream teachers, found negative implicit attitudes.…”

Section: As Shown Incontrasting

confidence: 84%

“…They found more negative implicit attitudes towards conduct disorder, a condition related to behaviours that cause harm to others. Obeid et al (2020) also speculated that diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder could be stigmatising. For autism, it would be worth considering whether endorsement of neurodiversitywhich is arguably less stigmatising, focusing more on strengths and differences, while acknowledging challenges faced by autistic individuals (Kapp et al, 2013) has any influence on attitudes towards autism.…”

Section: As Shown Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using the standard IAT, Dickter et al, (2020) found negative implicit attitudes in a sample of non-autistic adults (recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk site) in the USA. Obeid et al (2020) used the standard IAT to compare implicit attitudes towards autistic children and children with conduct disorder, in a sample of undergraduate students in the USA. They found the sample associated conduct disorder with more negative terms and autism with more positive terms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: As Shown Incontrasting

confidence: 84%

Section: As Shown Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Cage¹,

Doyle²

2021

Preprint

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“…Study at the intersection of autism spectrum conditions and prejudicial attitudes has become increasingly popular as researchers and other scholars actively move from purely pathological models of the condition towards theoretical and practical views that both incorporate the views of autistic people and seek to provide actionable information to better their lives (e.g., Fletcher-Watson et al, 2018). Autism is not always the most stigmatized relative to other conditions such as conduct and bipolar disorders and schizophrenia (Durand-Zaleski et al, 2012;Obeid et al, 2020), but negative stereotypes and ostracism of those on the spectrum persist. Serious consequences for autistic people include fewer friendships and smaller social networks, fewer employment opportunities, and lower levels of life satisfaction (e.g., Graetz, 2010;Neville & White, 2011).…”

Section: Cognitively Than Behaviorally Positive Towards Their Autistimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, autistic children and adults both report higher degrees of loneliness than neurotypical people (Bauminger & Kasari, 2003;Locke et al, 2010;Mazurek, 2013), which has downstream, negative effects on wellbeing (Mazurek, 2013). Recent research also finds autistic people are multiply-marginalized, affected by racial stereotypes at the same time they are affected by negative perceptions of autism (Broder-Fingert et al, 2020;Obeid et al, 2020), and that non-autistic people often decide whether or not to maintain relations with autistic individuals based on initial thin slice judgements (Sasson et al, 2017). Additional negative consequences are often felt by the parents and caregivers of autistic people-especially with respect to children.…”

Section: Cognitively Than Behaviorally Positive Towards Their Autistimentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Think I’m Amazing but Won’t Talk with Me.” Neurotypical People Are More Cognitively Than Behaviorally Positive Towards Their Autistic Friends

Bolton¹,

Lk²,

Sd³

2020

Preprint

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Negative stereotypes and ostracism of those on the autism spectrum persist, with consequences for autistic people including fewer friendships and smaller social networks. Recent work in the area has found that diagnosis disclosure can have a positive effect on autistic peer perceptions and that non-autistic people often decide whether or not to maintain relations with autistic individuals based on initial thin slice judgements. Participants (N = 423) in this study were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (disclosure of autism diagnosis or no disclosure) and read a fictional vignette depicting a social interaction with someone displaying behaviors characteristic of autism. They then answered questions regarding their affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to the character. Results indicate that non-autistic people show positive cognitions, but less positive behavior, towards those on the spectrum, and that participants with autistic friends (regardless of diagnosis disclosure) showed more negativity to the vignette character than those participants without such friends. Implications are discussed in light of situational factors that may be present within these relationships.

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Cultural differences in social communication and interaction: A gap in autism research

et al. 2021

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Social communication and interaction deficits are a diagnostic criteria of autism and integral to practitioner and researcher conceptualization. Culture is an influential factor in expectations for, and demonstration of, social communication and interaction skills, but there is limited research published in autism journals on this topic. This paucity of autism research examining cultural factors related to social communication and interaction may contribute to known identification disparities for racial and ethnic populations minoritized by systemic factors and research bias. We call for increased commitment from researchers to recruit racially and ethnically minoritized participants, prioritize investigating cultural expectations and perceptions of social communication and interaction, and evaluate measures related to social communication for cultural and linguistic responsivity. Lay Summary A diagnosis of autism requires the presence of deficits in social communication and interaction. Examples of these behaviors and skills include holding a back‐and‐forth conversation, the use of nonverbal communicative behaviors (e.g., gestures), and developing and maintaining social relationships. Culture influences the expectations for, and presentation of, these behaviors. However, research on this topic is lacking. Conducting more research related to culture and social communication could help reduce the disparities in autism identification across racially and ethnically minoritized populations.

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Do Implicit and Explicit Racial Biases Influence Autism Identification and Stigma? An Implicit Association Test Study

Cited by 39 publications

References 89 publications

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

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

“They Think I’m Amazing but Won’t Talk with Me.” Neurotypical People Are More Cognitively Than Behaviorally Positive Towards Their Autistic Friends

Cultural differences in social communication and interaction: A gap in autism research

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