OBJECTIVE: We aimed to clarify the public's mental health literacy of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHODS: Using a vignette of a young child, 500 Japanese participants were asked their perspectives, such as causes and appropriate coping strategies. For each response from those respondents who correctly identified the child as having autism, we tested the effects of sex and generation. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-nine respondents (45.8%) correctly identified the child as having autism. Significantly (P < 0.05) more females planned practical coping strategies such as contacting public agencies, whereas males had relatively more irrelevant perceptions, for example, significantly more males attributed ASD to social environment. Significantly more young respondents expected psychiatric treatments such as antipsychotic administration to be effective, and more seniors estimated low that the prevalence is approximately 0.01% or less. CONCLUSIONS: The mental health literacy of ASD among the Japanese public appears to be acceptable but there is still much room for improvement. Females showed more accurate knowledge, possibly reflecting gender roles. Some young people are not likely to know of the impact of psychiatric treatment, and seniors appear to be unaware of the current broadened recognition of ASD. Continued efforts to disseminate accurate information are required, particularly among males.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to clarify the public's mental health literacy of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHODS: Using a vignette of a young child, 500 Japanese participants were asked their perspectives, such as causes and appropriate coping strategies. For each response from those respondents who correctly identified the child as having autism, we tested the effects of sex and generation. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-nine respondents (45.8%) correctly identified the child as having autism. Significantly (P < 0.05) more females planned practical coping strategies such as contacting public agencies, whereas males had relatively more irrelevant perceptions, for example, significantly more males attributed ASD to social environment. Significantly more young respondents expected psychiatric treatments such as antipsychotic administration to be effective, and more seniors estimated low that the prevalence is approximately 0.01% or less. CONCLUSIONS: The mental health literacy of ASD among the Japanese public appears to be acceptable but there is still much room for improvement. Females showed more accurate knowledge, possibly reflecting gender roles. Some young people are not likely to know of the impact of psychiatric treatment, and seniors appear to be unaware of the current broadened recognition of ASD. Continued efforts to disseminate accurate information are required, particularly among males.
Authors: Anne L Rickards; Janet E Walstab; Roslyn A Wright-Rossi; Jacquie Simpson; Dinah S Reddihough Journal: J Dev Behav Pediatr Date: 2007-08 Impact factor: 2.225
Authors: Peter Szatmari; Andrew D Paterson; Lonnie Zwaigenbaum; Wendy Roberts; Jessica Brian; Xiao-Qing Liu; John B Vincent; Jennifer L Skaug; Ann P Thompson; Lili Senman; Lars Feuk; Cheng Qian; Susan E Bryson; Marshall B Jones; Christian R Marshall; Stephen W Scherer; Veronica J Vieland; Christopher Bartlett; La Vonne Mangin; Rhinda Goedken; Alberto Segre; Margaret A Pericak-Vance; Michael L Cuccaro; John R Gilbert; Harry H Wright; Ruth K Abramson; Catalina Betancur; Thomas Bourgeron; Christopher Gillberg; Marion Leboyer; Joseph D Buxbaum; Kenneth L Davis; Eric Hollander; Jeremy M Silverman; Joachim Hallmayer; Linda Lotspeich; James S Sutcliffe; Jonathan L Haines; Susan E Folstein; Joseph Piven; Thomas H Wassink; Val Sheffield; Daniel H Geschwind; Maja Bucan; W Ted Brown; Rita M Cantor; John N Constantino; T Conrad Gilliam; Martha Herbert; Clara Lajonchere; David H Ledbetter; Christa Lese-Martin; Janet Miller; Stan Nelson; Carol A Samango-Sprouse; Sarah Spence; Matthew State; Rudolph E Tanzi; Hilary Coon; Geraldine Dawson; Bernie Devlin; Annette Estes; Pamela Flodman; Lambertus Klei; William M McMahon; Nancy Minshew; Jeff Munson; Elena Korvatska; Patricia M Rodier; Gerard D Schellenberg; Moyra Smith; M Anne Spence; Chris Stodgell; Ping Guo Tepper; Ellen M Wijsman; Chang-En Yu; Bernadette Rogé; Carine Mantoulan; Kerstin Wittemeyer; Annemarie Poustka; Bärbel Felder; Sabine M Klauck; Claudia Schuster; Fritz Poustka; Sven Bölte; Sabine Feineis-Matthews; Evelyn Herbrecht; Gabi Schmötzer; John Tsiantis; Katerina Papanikolaou; Elena Maestrini; Elena Bacchelli; Francesca Blasi; Simona Carone; Claudio Toma; Herman Van Engeland; Maretha de Jonge; Chantal Kemner; Frederieke Koop; Frederike Koop; Marjolein Langemeijer; Marjolijn Langemeijer; Channa Hijmans; Channa Hijimans; Wouter G Staal; Gillian Baird; Patrick F Bolton; Michael L Rutter; Emma Weisblatt; Jonathan Green; Catherine Aldred; Julie-Anne Wilkinson; Andrew Pickles; Ann Le Couteur; Tom Berney; Helen McConachie; Anthony J Bailey; Kostas Francis; Gemma Honeyman; Aislinn Hutchinson; Jeremy R Parr; Simon Wallace; Anthony P Monaco; Gabrielle Barnby; Kazuhiro Kobayashi; Janine A Lamb; Ines Sousa; Nuala Sykes; Edwin H Cook; Stephen J Guter; Bennett L Leventhal; Jeff Salt; Catherine Lord; Christina Corsello; Vanessa Hus; Daniel E Weeks; Fred Volkmar; Maïté Tauber; Eric Fombonne; Andy Shih; Kacie J Meyer Journal: Nat Genet Date: 2007-02-18 Impact factor: 38.330