RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Bárová, Veronika
A1 Brabcová, Dana
A1 Kohout, Jiří
T1 Knowledge of university students about autism spectrum disorders measured by a validated test
JF e-Pedagogium
YR 2018
VO 18
IS 1
SP 16
OP 32
DO 10.5507/epd.2018.003
UL https://e-pedagogium.upol.cz/en/artkey/epd-201801-0003.php
AB Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been significantly rising in the last decades due to improvement in diagnostic and other factors. Not surprisingly, it also results in higher attention devoted to this issue in education. Despite the importance of the topic, no systematic study focusing on knowledge of ASD has been yet carried out in the Czech Republic, and there is no reliable test enabling quantification of this variable. Thus, we aimed to validate a 24-item test measuring knowledge of autism spectrum disorders and to explore the level of knowledge in Czech university students. The research was carried out on a sample of 328 students of different majors (science, humanities, technology) at the University of West Bohemia and University of South Bohemia. We found out that the instrument taking into consideration also the level of confidence of respondents shows very good psychometric properties (Cronbach's alpha of 0.816, test-retest reliability of 0.825). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor solution with the sole factor corresponding to overall knowledge of ASD. The average success rate in the test was 36.4%, and no effect of the field of study was observed here. Common misconceptions such as that ASD are caused by vaccination have been identified. The presented results suggest that an effective intervention focusing on improvement of knowledge of ASD, especially among future teachers, would be highly needed.