Do Autistic People's Support Needs and Non-Autistic People's Support for the Neurodiversity Movement Contribute to Heightened Autism Stigma in South Korea vs. the US?

Researchers compared attitudes toward autism between people in South Korea and the United States. They found that South Koreans showed more negative attitudes toward autistic people and knew less about the neurodiversity movement (which promotes autism acceptance). The level of support an autistic person needed and how much contact participants had with autistic people affected attitudes. The study suggests cultural differences play a role in autism stigma and highlights the need for education programs tailored to different cultures.

This cross-cultural study examined autism stigma among 259 South Korean and 240 American adults using vignettes depicting autistic individuals with varying support needs across social, communication, and restricted/repetitive behavior domains. South Korean participants demonstrated significantly greater stigma toward autistic characteristics and lower awareness and support for the neurodiversity movement compared to Americans. Stigma levels were influenced by the portrayed support needs of autistic characters and participant characteristics including autism knowledge, neurodiversity endorsement, and contact with autistic people. After controlling for these factors, nationality remained associated with stigma in social and restricted/repetitive behavior domains, suggesting cultural factors contribute to autism stigma beyond individual knowledge and contact variables.

Findings support developing culturally-adapted stigma reduction programs that include autism education, neurodiversity awareness, and facilitated contact with diverse autistic individuals. Interventions should be tailored to specific cultural contexts rather than using universal approaches across different countries and cultures.

Study relies on vignette methodology rather than real-world interactions. Sample characteristics and recruitment methods not detailed in abstract. Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences about cultural factors and stigma development.

We examined stigma towards vignette characters representing diverse autistic characteristics (social, non-speaking, or repetitive interests or restricted behaviors; RIRB) among 259 South Korean and 240 American participants (age range = 18 ~ 74). Within each domain, participants were randomized to read a vignette depicting low or high support needs. Koreans reported greater stigma towards autistic characteristics and less awareness of and support for the neurodiversity movement than Americans. Autistic characters' support needs and rater characteristics (autism knowledge, neurodiversity endorsement, and contact quantity) predicted stigma in at least one domain, and after accounting for these variables, participants' nationality was suggestively associated only with stigma towards social characteristics and RIRB.

Findings highlight the need for culturally adapted-training that provides contact with diverse autistic people.