Family Medicine Department, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
PeerJ. 2023 Feb 28;11:e14919. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14919. eCollection 2023.
Caregivers are directly involved in managing the daily basic needs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The knowledge and attitudes of these caregivers are important to achieving success in their roles. Thus, this study aimed to determine what constitutes good knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors among caregivers toward children with ASD.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 128 caregivers of children with ASD in Kota Bharu, Kelantan from May to August 2020, using convenience sampling. Validated questionnaires were used to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward children with ASD. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics and simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were then performed.
The response rate was 100%. The proportion of good knowledge and attitudes toward children with ASD among caregivers was 85.1% and 88.3%, respectively. Factors significantly associated with good knowledge were being female (OR (95% CI) 2.79 [0.99-7.90]) and ASD children being non-first-born children (OR (95% CI) 0.41 [0.15-1.12]). Factors significantly associated with good attitudes were age of 30 years and older (OR (95% CI) 0.13 [0.03-0.62]) and caregiver having other children with other types of learning difficulties (OR (95% CI) 0.15 [0.04, 0.52]).
The proportion of caregivers with good knowledge of ASD and good attitudes toward children with ASD was high. The caregiver's age and sex, the position of the ASD child among the siblings, and the presence of other types of learning disorders in the family need to be considered when managing children with ASD.
照顾者直接参与管理自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的日常基本需求。这些照顾者的知识和态度对于他们在角色中取得成功至关重要。因此，本研究旨在确定照顾者对 ASD 儿童的良好知识、态度以及相关因素。
本研究采用便利抽样方法，于 2020 年 5 月至 8 月在吉兰丹哥打巴鲁招募了 128 名 ASD 儿童的照顾者进行横断面研究。使用经过验证的问卷评估照顾者对 ASD 儿童的知识和态度。使用 SPSS 版本 24 对数据进行分析。然后进行描述性统计分析和简单及多元逻辑回归分析。
应答率为 100%。照顾者对 ASD 儿童具有良好知识和态度的比例分别为 85.1%和 88.3%。与良好知识显著相关的因素是女性（OR（95%CI）2.79[0.99-7.90]）和 ASD 儿童是非长子（OR（95%CI）0.41[0.15-1.12]）。与良好态度显著相关的因素是年龄在 30 岁及以上（OR（95%CI）0.13[0.03-0.62]）和照顾者有其他患有其他类型学习障碍的孩子（OR（95%CI）0.15[0.04-0.52]）。
照顾者对 ASD 的知识和对 ASD 儿童的态度良好的比例较高。在管理 ASD 儿童时，需要考虑照顾者的年龄和性别、ASD 儿童在兄弟姐妹中的位置以及家庭中是否存在其他类型的学习障碍。
