Factors Underlying Differences in Knowledge, Explicit Stigma and Implicit Biases towards Autism across Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States
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| Title: | Factors Underlying Differences in Knowledge, Explicit Stigma and Implicit Biases towards Autism across Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Yulin Cheng, Patrick Dwyer (ORCID |
| Source: | Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. 2025 29(4):868-883. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Social Bias, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Cultural Differences, Knowledge Level, Predictor Variables, Collectivism, Individualism, Age Differences |
| Geographic Terms: | Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Implicit Association Test |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13623613241290565 |
| ISSN: | 1362-3613 1461-7005 |
| Abstract: | A growing literature suggests that there is cross-cultural variation in levels of autism-related stigma, which may partially be explained by differences in cultural orientation or autism-related knowledge between countries. This literature has relied heavily on self-report measures of explicit attitudes towards autism; little research has examined implicit biases, and whether these implicit biases vary across cultures. Thus, here we had two aims: (1) to assess the contribution of knowledge and cultural orientation to "both" explicit stigma and implicit biases, and (2) to compare autism-related knowledge, explicit stigma, and implicit biases across university students in Hong Kong (n = 119), the United Kingdom (n = 120), and the United States (n = 122). Replicating prior work, we found that explicit stigma was predicted by less accurate knowledge, lower horizontal collectivism, greater vertical individualism, and higher implicit biases. Implicit biases were "directly" predicted by age and explicit stigma, and "indirectly" predicted by vertical individualism (positively) and horizontal collectivism (negatively) via explicit stigma. Knowledge and explicit stigma differed across countries, even after accounting for covariates: students in Hong Kong displayed less accurate knowledge, and higher explicit stigma towards autism, than those in the United Kingdom and United States. However, implicit biases did not differ between countries. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1466091 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | A growing literature suggests that there is cross-cultural variation in levels of autism-related stigma, which may partially be explained by differences in cultural orientation or autism-related knowledge between countries. This literature has relied heavily on self-report measures of explicit attitudes towards autism; little research has examined implicit biases, and whether these implicit biases vary across cultures. Thus, here we had two aims: (1) to assess the contribution of knowledge and cultural orientation to "both" explicit stigma and implicit biases, and (2) to compare autism-related knowledge, explicit stigma, and implicit biases across university students in Hong Kong (n = 119), the United Kingdom (n = 120), and the United States (n = 122). Replicating prior work, we found that explicit stigma was predicted by less accurate knowledge, lower horizontal collectivism, greater vertical individualism, and higher implicit biases. Implicit biases were "directly" predicted by age and explicit stigma, and "indirectly" predicted by vertical individualism (positively) and horizontal collectivism (negatively) via explicit stigma. Knowledge and explicit stigma differed across countries, even after accounting for covariates: students in Hong Kong displayed less accurate knowledge, and higher explicit stigma towards autism, than those in the United Kingdom and United States. However, implicit biases did not differ between countries. |
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| ISSN: | 1362-3613 1461-7005 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13623613241290565 |
