Socioeconomic factors and autism among 16- to 30-month-old children: Evidence from a national survey of China

Abstract

Does being born in a family of high socioeconomic status mean a higher risk of being diagnosed with autism? The evidence from the Asian area is lacking. This research was conducted among 6049 toddlers who went through an evaluation-diagnose procedure of autism and whose parents were surveyed during the national survey of China, 2016-2017. Parents reported their education levels, occupations, family income, and ethnic background. We recruited the toddlers and parents from kindergartens, communities, and hospitals in five geographically representative areas of China. On average, these toddlers were 23 months of age. We found toddlers whose mothers had less than 9 years of education (junior middle school or below) had 2.46 times the chance to get a diagnosis of autism, compared with toddlers whose mothers had more than 15 years of education (college or above). We also found that 1.17 toddlers could be diagnosed with autism in each 100 Chinese toddlers. These findings have important implications for providing support to families that have low socioeconomic status, especially families with a mother who did not complete 9 years of education. Early detection programs focused on children from low socioeconomic backgrounds should be promoted.

Keywords: autism; socioeconomic factors; toddlers.