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Autism awareness and attitudes towards treatment in caregivers of children aged 3–6 years in Harbin, China

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Abstract

Objective

To (1) estimate the proportion of people in the community who could correctly recognize autism spectrum disorders (ASD); (2) describe the attitudes towards various treatments for ASD; and (3) identify factors associated with ASD recognition.

Methods

A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Harbin, China (n = 4,947). We estimated the proportions of participants who were at different levels of knowledge about ASD and of their attitudes towards mental health service use. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with the recognition of ASD.

Results

Overall, 2,786 (57.8%) of the respondents could recognize the ASD. Recognition of autism depended on gender, residing areas, age and educational levels. With respect to the attitudes towards mental health service use for ASD, 4,007 respondents (84.6%) chose to visit a health organization for treatment; 2,470 (68.2%) made the choice of consulting a psychotherapist.

Conclusions

There is a large room for improvement in awareness about ASD and treatment in the Chinese communities. Insufficient knowledge about ASD and inappropriate attitudes towards mental health service use may impede the efforts of early identification and intervention. Health education and promotion are needed to improve people’s knowledge about ASD and available mental health services.

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Abbreviations

ASD:

Autism spectrum disorders

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Harbin Women and Children’s Hospital and Health Institute as well as all the collaborating institutions. We also thank all of the people who participated in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Children’s and Adolescent Health, Public Health College of Harbin Medical University, 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin, 150086, People’s Republic of China

    Jia Wang, Xue Zhou, Wei Xia, CaiHong Sun & LiJie Wu

  2. Departments of Psychiatry and of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, T2N 4Z6, Canada

    JianLi Wang

Authors
  1. Jia Wang
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  2. Xue Zhou
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  3. Wei Xia
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  4. CaiHong Sun
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to LiJie Wu.

Appendix: Questions about knowledge and attitudes towards autism spectrum disorders in caregivers

Appendix: Questions about knowledge and attitudes towards autism spectrum disorders in caregivers

Questionnaire

  1. 1.

    Have you heard of Autism?

    • (A) Yes, (B) No.

  2. 2.

    What are the symptoms of the Autism?

    • (A) Unable to communicate with others, un-cooperative and being isolated,

    • (B) No eye contact, and not close to family members,

    • (C) Language barriers,

    • (D) Talking to themselves, or repetitive talking,

    • (E) Narrow life interests and repetitive behaviors,

    • (F) All of the above,

    • (G) Do not know.

  3. 3.

    Do you think that Autism is a rare disease?

    • (A) Yes, (B) No, (C) Don’t Know.

  4. 4.

    What do you think about the severity of Autism?

    • (A) From mild to severe, (B) Usually mild, (C) Usually severe, (D) Do not know.

  5. 5.

    What do you think about the IQ levels of the Autistic children?

    • (A) High, (B) Low, (C) Normal, (D) All mentioned above, (E) Do not know.

  6. 6.

    Do you think that the onset of Autism is only in childhood?

    • (A) Yes, (B) No, (C) Don’t Know.

  7. 7.

    Do you think that Autistic children always have special talent?

    • (A) Yes, (B) No, (C) Don’t Know.

  8. 8.

    Do you think that Autism is associated with the economic status and educational level of the parents of children?

    • (A) Yes, (B) No, (C) Don’t Know.

Attitudes towards mental health service use

  1. 9.

    What are you going to do if you find out your kids can not speak and make eye contact with you by 2 years old?

    • (A) Visit health organizations, (B) Wait and see (The kids will “grow out”),

    • (C) Do not worry, (D) This does not affect development,

    • (E) Do not know what to do.

  2. 10.

    If you select to go to consult someone else, which specialist would you like to consult for diagnostic evaluation?

    • (A) Psychotherapist, (B) Physician for Children Health Care, (C) Pediatrician,

    • (D) Psychiatrist, (E) Physiotherapist, (F) Neurosurgeons,

    • (G) Other health professionals, (H) Do not know.

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Wang, J., Zhou, X., Xia, W. et al. Autism awareness and attitudes towards treatment in caregivers of children aged 3–6 years in Harbin, China. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 1301–1308 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0438-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0438-9

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