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ASD Knowledge in Medical Students and Residents
As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed more frequently, possessing accurate literacy of the disorder becomes increasingly important for physicians. Previous research has investigated knowledge and attitudes of ASD possessed by medical professionals who are likely to work with individuals with ASD and primary care practitioners (Heidgerken et al. 2005). Compared to a group of ASD specialists, medical professionals, including primary care practitioners, were more likely to maintain incorrect beliefs regarding certain components of ASD. For example, non-ASD specialists were less likely to believe children with ASD share social attachments/affectionate behaviors with caregivers and peers. Additionally, these professionals endorsed the false notion that ASD is more prevalent in families of a higher socioeconomic status (Heidgerken et al., 2005). This study suggests individuals in the medical field, particularly those who do not frequently work directly with individuals with ASD, may hold incorrect and inaccurate beliefs about ASD and may not be aware of their lack of knowledge.
Objectives:
The primary goal of this study was to investigate perceived and actual knowledge of ASD possessed by medical students and residents.
Methods:
A sample of 141 medical students and residents (61.5% female) completed a battery of assessments including a demographic survey and A Survey of Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASK-ASD; Hansen, 2015), assessing perceived and actual knowledge of ASD. Approximately 27% of the participants endorsed receiving previous ASD training, such as lectures during medical school and ASD-focused clinical rotations.
Results:
Participants’ actual knowledge of ASD was high (85%), and participants perceived themselves to be moderately knowledgeable (M = 1.95, SD = .34). The correlation between perceived and actual knowledge was significant, r = .23, p = .006, indicating that when knowledge was higher, so was their confidence in their knowledge. Additionally, receiving ASD training was significantly correlated with both perceived and actual knowledge, r = .40, p < .001 and r = .19, p = .03, respectively. To further examine the relation between training and ASD knowledge, Steiger’s (1980) method for comparing two dependent correlations (i.e., those sharing one common variable—previous training on ASD) was used to determine whether the magnitude of the correlation between perceived ASD knowledge and training was greater than the magnitude of the correlation between actual knowledge and training. The difference between the magnitudes of the correlations was significant, t(137) = -2.57, p = .01, indicating the correlation between training and perceived ASD knowledge is significantly higher than the correlation between training and actual ASD knowledge.
Conclusions:
Generally, participants were highly knowledgeable regarding ASD and higher levels of knowledge were associated with higher confidence in their own knowledge levels. Nevertheless, this correlation was modest. Additionally, analyses revealed several significant correlations between perceived and actual ASD knowledge and previous ASD training, and the magnitude of these correlations were significantly different. That is, medical students’ training appeared to improve their perceived knowledge more than it improved their actual knowledge. This finding may, in part, be due to a high level of actual knowledge overall, creating a ceiling effect.