Disclosure of Diagnosis Increases Positivity of Social Responses to Autistic Individuals.

Bolton, Matthew J.; Ault, Lara K.

Individuals with disabilities, disorders, and neurological conditions continue to be ostracized by society. Recent work has indicated that autistic college students, concerned about their peers' acceptance of and responses to their autism-related behavior, may fear disclosing their condition. The present study examined college student and nonstudent attitudes toward individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC), focusing on participants' perceptions of these individuals based on their own knowledge of and interpersonal experiences with autism, and awareness of diagnosis when interacting with autistic individuals. Participants (n = 176) responding to an online survey read a vignette in which they worked on a project with someone exhibiting unusual behavior. They either knew or were unaware of the ASC diagnosis via random assignment. They then indicated positive and negative affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses to the vignette character. Overall, results revealed a pattern of familiarity, r(144) = .25, p = .002, and similarity, r(152) = .19, p = .017, correlating with positive cognitions about the autistic person. In addition, experience and diagnosis awareness interacted, F(1, 146) = 9.84, p = .002, ηp 2 = 0.06, power = .88, such that those with first-hand, interaction-based experience with ASC, who knew the diagnosis, showed fewer negative behavioral responses, F(1, 146) = 9.84, p = .002, ηp 2 = 0.06, power = .88. For those unfamiliar with ASCs, diagnosis awareness did not reduce negativity. Implications and future directions are discussed.

AUTISTIC people; SELF-disclosure; SOCIETAL reaction; POSITIVITY effect (Psychology); COLLEGE students' conduct of life; SOCIAL history

Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2018, Vol 23, Issue 2, p110

2164-8204

Academic Journal

10.24839/2325-7342.JN23.2.110