Comparison of maternal beliefs about causes of autism spectrum disorder and association with utilization of services and treatments.
Virginia Chaidez, Erik Fernandez Y Garcia, Lulu W Wang and 4 others
PMID 30136409WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers’ causal beliefs were linked to service use.
Believing environmental, vaccine, or medication causes was linked to more complementary and alternative medicine, and not knowing a cause was linked to more conventional medication. Ask families what they believe.
Key findings
01Genetic (51.5%) and environmental (50.9%) factors were the most common causes mothers reported, and 5.5% reported maternal biomedical factors.
02Mothers were as likely to report one cause or no cause (48.5%) as two or more causes (51.5%).
03Believing environmental causes was associated with 20 or more service hours per week and complementary and alternative medicine use; believing vaccines or medications caused ASD was associated with complementary and alternative medicine use; not knowing a cause was associated with conventional medication use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was an exploratory secondary analysis of existing data, not an intervention study, so it cannot show that beliefs caused service use. Only mothers were analyzed, and they were nearly always the parent who completed the interview. The sample included only White, Hispanic, and Asian mothers, and the Asian group had 21 mothers, so comparisons are limited. The study name and the environmental exposure questionnaire may have primed mothers to mention environmental or genetic causes. The data were collected from 2003 to 2009, so they may not reflect current beliefs or services. The study did not capture detailed intensity and duration of past and present services, especially complementary and alternative medicine treatments.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that changing a mother’s causal belief will change service use. The study observed existing beliefs and treatment use; it did not test an intervention.