Background

Unsubstantiated practices continue to be viewed as viable options by caregivers, despite the existence of evidence-based practices. The purpose of this study was to better understand factors that influence caregivers’ acceptance of various practices for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods

Primary aims were addressed using survey methodology. Caregivers of children with ASD (N = 75) read texts describing eight practices for intervening or treating aspects of ASD: four evidence-based practices (EBP) and four unsubstantiated practices. The text presentation was based on a 2 × 2 within-subjects factorial design with practice status (EBP or unsubstantiated) and source credibility (credible or non-credible) as the independent variables. For each text, caregivers reported on their familiarity with the practice and the extent to which they approve of the practice described.

Results

Caregivers were more familiar with unsubstantiated practices than with EBPs but reported higher approval of EBPs. The main effect of source credibility on caregiver approval ratings was not significant. A significant interaction was observed between practice status and source credibility. Caregivers were more likely to approve of unsubstantiated practices endorsed by credible sources and, similarly, of EBPs endorsed by non-credible sources.

Conclusion

Understanding how caregivers perceive of ASD practices is the first step in developing trainings aimed at teaching them to be savvy consumers of autism information. These are preliminary findings based on a probabilistic sample. Readers are cautioned about applying these findings to the broader caregiver population. Future research directions are discussed.

中文翻译：

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简要报告：照顾者对自闭症行为的看法

背景

尽管存在循证做法，但护理人员仍将无根据的做法视为可行的选择。这项研究的目的是为了更好地理解影响照顾者对其自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的孩子接受各种实践的因素。

方法

主要目标是使用调查方法论解决的。患有ASD的儿童（N = 75）的看护者阅读了描述干预或治疗ASD方面的八种做法的文本：四种循证行为（EBP）和四种未经证实的行为。文本演示基于2×2的受试者内部析因设计，以实践状态（EBP或未经证实）和来源可信度（可信或不可可信）作为独立变量。对于每个文本，看护人都报告他们对实践的熟悉程度以及他们认可所描述的实践的程度。

结果

与EBP相比，护理人员对未经证实的做法更为熟悉，但报告称对EBP的认可更高。来源可信度对看护者认可度的主要影响并不显着。在实践状态和来源信誉之间观察到显着的相互作用。护理人员更可能赞成由可信来源认可的未经证实的做法，并且类似地，也认可由非可信来源认可的EBP。

结论

了解护理人员如何看待ASD做法是开发旨在教导他们成为自闭症信息的精明消费者的培训的第一步。这些是基于概率样本的初步发现。读者应注意将这些发现应用于更广泛的照料者群体。讨论了未来的研究方向。