IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i13p6774-d581058.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Etiology among Parents of Children with ASD

Author

Listed:
  • Wei-Ju Chen

    (Department of Psychology, The University of Texas Permian Basin, Odessa, TX 79762, USA)

  • Zihan Zhang

    (Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Haocen Wang

    (Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Tung-Sung Tseng

    (Health Sciences Center, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences Program, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA)

  • Ping Ma

    (Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Lei-Shih Chen

    (Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

Abstract

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social communication deficits and restricted or repetitive behaviors. Parental perceptions of the etiology of their child’s ASD can affect provider–client relationships, bonding between parents and their children, and the prognosis, treatment, and management of children with ASD. Thus, this study sought to examine the perceptions of ASD etiology of parents of children with ASD. Methods: Forty-two parents of children diagnosed with ASD were recruited across Texas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually. All interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim for content analysis utilizing NVivo 12.0 (QSR International, Doncaster, Australia). Results: The content analysis identified the following themes regarding parental perceptions of ASD etiology: Genetic factors (40.5%), environmental factors (31.0%), problems that occurred during pregnancy or delivery (23.8%), vaccinations (16.7%), other health problems (7.1%), parental age at the time of pregnancy (4.8%), and spiritual or religious factors (2.4%). Conclusions: The parental perceptions of ASD etiology were diverse, but several views, such as vaccinations and spiritual or religious factors, were not based on scientific evidence. Health professionals and researchers can use these findings to develop and provide targeted education to parents who have children with ASD. Our findings also support policymakers in developing campaigns designed to increase parental ASD awareness and knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei-Ju Chen & Zihan Zhang & Haocen Wang & Tung-Sung Tseng & Ping Ma & Lei-Shih Chen, 2021. "Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Etiology among Parents of Children with ASD," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6774-:d:581058
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6774/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6774/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shaked, Michal, 2005. "The social trajectory of illness: Autism in the ultraorthodox community in Israel," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(10), pages 2190-2200, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Coleman-Brueckheimer, Kate & Spitzer, Joseph & Koffman, Jonathan, 2009. "Involvement of Rabbinic and communal authorities in decision-making by haredi Jews in the UK with breast cancer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 323-333, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:6774-:d:581058. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.