A cross-cultural comparison of a measure of parent perceptions among families of children with autism in Vietnam.

This study looked at how Vietnamese parents think about their child's autism compared to parents in North America. Researchers wanted to see if a questionnaire that measures parent beliefs about autism would work in Vietnam's different cultural setting. They found the questionnaire could be used, but Vietnamese parents had different views about autism than North American parents, showing that culture affects how families understand autism.

This cross-cultural study examined whether the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised for Autism Spectrum Disorder (IPQ-R-ASD), originally developed in Western countries, could be effectively used to understand Vietnamese parents' perceptions of their children's autism. The research addressed a significant gap in autism research, as most studies on parent perceptions have been conducted in high-income Western countries with individualistic cultural values, while Vietnam represents a lower-middle-income country with collectivistic Asian cultural values. The translated Vietnamese version showed usability, but revealed notable differences between Vietnamese and North American parents' autism perceptions, highlighting the importance of cultural context in understanding how parents conceptualize their children's autism diagnosis.

Results suggest autism support services should consider cultural context when working with families from different backgrounds. The availability of culturally-adapted assessment tools may improve understanding of how parents from diverse cultures perceive their child's autism, potentially leading to more effective, culturally-sensitive interventions and support strategies.

Sample size not reported. Study type unclear. Limited detail provided about specific cultural differences identified. No information about the validation process or psychometric properties of the Vietnamese translation provided in the abstract.

Raising an autistic child can affect many aspects of families' lives. Parents are responsible for many decisions, from initiating evaluation to selecting and implementing treatments. How parents conceptualize the course and nature of their child's diagnosis influences these processes and parents' own well-being. Parents' perceptions about their children's autism are also affected by cultural contexts and understanding of autism.

The(IPQ-R) is widely used to study cognitions in chronic health research and has been adapted and validated to measure parents' perceptions and beliefs about their children's ASD (IPQ-R-ASD). However, such studies are mostly conducted in high-income countries (HICs) with western, individualistic cultural values (e.g. United States, Canada). Therefore, it is unclear whether the IPQ-R-ASD is a useful instrument in understanding parents' perceptions of autism in Vietnam, a lower- and middle-income country (LMIC) with collectivistic Asian cultural values.

These differences suggest that parents in Vietnam may have cognitive representations of their children's autism that differ from those of parents living in HIC, western countries. The purpose of this study was to examine the usability of the translated Vietnamese IPQ-R-ASD that may, ultimately, help explore Vietnamese parents' autism perceptions. While the study's result indicated the usability of the translated measure in Vietnam, when interpreted with Vietnamese norms, results also highlighted notable differences between Vietnamese and North American parents' perceptions of autism that warrant further research.