Adults with autism (AwA) report experiences of stigma and discrimination. Yet, quantitative research suggests that public attitudes are... Show moreAdults with autism (AwA) report experiences of stigma and discrimination. Yet, quantitative research suggests that public attitudes are relatively benign. This research discrepancy is compounded by the present lack of a stakeholder-informed, theoretically-guided measure of the stigma towards AwA. The objective of the present study was to develop a measure of stigma towards AwA following best practices survey methodology. First, existing related measures were reviewed for possible candidate items, yielding 36 draft questions related to the stigma of AwA. Next, seven stakeholders in the AwA community were recruited to provide feedback on their experiences of stigma and discrimination, as well as feedback on the draft items. Following stakeholder feedback, draft items were edited, added, or removed based on feedback from the participants with AwA and their lived experiences, resulting in a revised measure of 51 candidate items. Finally, these 51 items underwent a quantitative phase with participants recruited through MTurk (N = 357). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted in order to generate a data driven factor structure that reflected stigma theory. The end result was a 20-item, four factor solution measuring numerous components of stigma within factors including cognitive components of stigma, blame, positive and negative affect, and comfort with close contact. The resulting measurement tool was titled the Public Stigma towards Adults with Autism Scale (PSAWA) and demonstrated strong psychometric properties. The tool has utility for further studying stigma towards AwA and assessing stigma interventions. Show less
