Abstract
Background:
With growing visibility of adult autism in society, understanding how autistic adults are characterized in public discourse is paramount for anticipating dynamics of inclusion/exclusion. Media content can reflect and shape cultural stereotypes about social groups. Especially potent mechanisms for expressing and reinforcing stereotypes are “generic statements,” that is, generalizations about a group’s traits or behavior. This article reports an analysis of generic statements made about autistic adults in British newspapers across a 10-year period.
Methods:
We electronically searched six national UK newspapers for articles discussing adult autism, which were published between 2014 and 2023. We extracted for analysis 251 articles that contained at least one generic statement about autistic adults. In total, this dataset contained 622 generic statements, which were subjected to content analysis to determine the content and relative frequency of the characteristics ascribed to autistic adults.
Results:
The analysis identified 26 attributes ascribed to autistic adults, which were organized into two overarching categories of generic statements: deficit-focused and diversity-focused. Deficit-focused generic statements emphasized impairments in social skills, cognitive/behavioral rigidity, or vulnerability/dependency. Diversity-focused generic statements emphasized difference and heterogeneity, highlighted distinct strengths of autistic adults, or challenged specific deficit-focused stereotypes. Deficit-focused generic statements significantly outnumbered diversity-focused statements in the dataset as a whole. However, the dominance of deficit-focused statements primarily applied to the earlier years analyzed (2014–2018), with diversity-focused statements drawing level as the decade progressed.
Conclusion:
Results suggest that diversity-focused narratives have gained relative strength in recent years but that deficit-focused stereotypes retain strong residual presence. By establishing the specific components of the most prevalent stereotypes of autistic adults, results offer evidence-based targets for public information or destigmatization campaigns.
Community Brief
Why is this an important issue?
Despite growing awareness of adult autism, autistic adults still often face stigma, that is, social disapproval or disrespect. The stereotypes that circulate about any social group influence how that group is perceived and treated in real-world situations. Understanding what stereotypes are attached to autistic adults in popular media can give important insights for efforts to anticipate and reduce stigma.
What was the purpose of this study?
This study aimed to answer two questions. First, how are autistic adults characterized in the British press? Second, have media representations of autistic adults changed across the past 10 years?
What did the researchers do?
Researchers used an electronic database to find articles discussing adult autism, which were published in six British newspapers between 2014 and 2023. They identified 622 “generic statements” about autistic adults, that is, claims that made generalizations about autistic adults’ traits or behaviors. Using specialist software, these generic statements were classified to establish the range of characteristics that the media attributed to autistic adults.
What were the results of the study?
The analysis identified 26 attributes that the media associated with autistic adults. These fell into two overarching categories: deficit-focused and diversity-focused. Deficit-focused generic statements emphasized autistic adults’ difficulties with social skills, cognitive/behavioral rigidity, or vulnerability/dependency. Diversity-focused generic statements emphasized difference/heterogeneity, highlighted autistic adults’ strengths, or challenged negative stereotypes. Overall. there were more deficit-focused than diversity-focused statements in the articles analyzed. However, the number of diversity-focused statements grew as the decade progressed.
What do these findings add to what was already known?
As the first dedicated study of how stereotypes of autistic adults circulate in popular media, this study pinpoints the specific characteristics commonly ascribed to autistic adults. It also supports previous suggestions that positive diversity-focused narratives about autism are gaining strength in mass media.
What are potential weaknesses in the study?
The analysis only explored written text from a limited number of British newspapers. In addition, the study does not illuminate how autistic or non-autistic audiences might respond to this media content.
How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?
The findings suggest that autistic advocates’ efforts to promote diversity narratives are resonating in mass media, but deficit-focused narratives remain strong. By identifying the most common stereotypes of adult autism, the results can inform efforts to reduce stigmatization and promote inclusion of autistic adults.
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