ABSTRACT
We used data from the 2011 Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services (N = 1,420) to evaluate a conceptual model linking social background (race-ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES]) to parental distress through children's clinical profiles and parental beliefs about the nature and causes of their child's autism. Children's clinical profiles varied by social background; white children and children of more highly educated and affluent parents were less likely to experience comorbid conditions and were more likely to be diagnosed with Asperger's. Parental beliefs also varied such that parents of racial-ethnic minority children and parents of lower SES perceived their child's condition as more uncertain and were less likely to attribute it to genetic causes. Parents of Hispanic children and with lower incomes were more likely to be upset by the child's condition. Although parental beliefs had independent associations with distress, children's clinical profiles contributed more to explaining variation in distress.
Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Parents , Psychological Distress , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Ethnicity , Female , Humans , Male , Minority Groups , Models, Psychological , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
Research has demonstrated a status gap between members of healthcare delivery teams. However, it is unclear which factors mitigate or exacerbate the status gap between healthcare providers. This paper examines the concept of status affirmation, the belief that others affirm the individual's social standing, as one factor that can affect the status gap between healthcare professionals. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate two factors that affect nurses' status affirmation: nurses' educational backgrounds and clinical specializations. A close-ended survey was administered to registered nurses in Indiana, a midwestern American state 1 (N = 1262) to identify which nurses are likely to have their status affirmed by physicians, in general. Results of multinomial logistic regression analyses suggest that highly educated nurses are unlikely to receive status affirmation, and there are differences in status affirmation across clinical specialties. In addition, nurses with advanced degrees often do not work in specialties that receive status affirmation. These results suggest that conflict among nurses and doctors is as likely to exist across divisions in nurses' educational attainment as across work specializations. Status affirmation is posited as a theoretical antecedent to interprofessional collaboration.
