Stigma of Autism Spectrum Disorder: cost of a spoiled identity

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in communication, social interaction, and repetitive or restricted patterns of behavior. Stigma is a social process that involves identifying human variations and associating these variations with negative attributes. As a result of this process, individuals who are stigmatized can experience discrimination from others. Previous studies have shown that individuals with ASD experience stigma throughout their lifespan. Additionally, they experience particularly poor employment outcomes, even among individuals with disabilities. The current study examined the role of stigma in the workplace by testing a willingness-to-accept (WTA) behavioral economics measure that modeled stigma as a “cost” of working with someone with ASD. Participants were 256 individuals that read a vignette describing a potential coworker with social deficits characteristic of ASD, with mild social deficits, or with diabetes. Vignettes, with the exception of the individual with diabetes, did not include diagnostic labels. Participants were then asked to rate their attitudes towards the coworker described and to request a salary increase from a hypothetical employer that would offset the “cost” of working with the individual that had those difficulties. The results indicate that while participants reported more negative attitudes towards an individual with characteristics of ASD, they did not request any additional compensation for working with them compared to an individual with diabetes or with mild social deficits. Additionally, participants believed that other participants would request less additional money for working with an individual with ASD than for working with an individual with diabetes. These results provided mixed support for the study hypotheses. Overall, participants appeared to be influenced by the belief that the hypothetical transaction (WTA measure) was a taboo trade-off, or a morally unacceptable transaction. Implications for utilizing a WTA measure for studying stigma and directions for future research are discussed.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Anton Shcherbako