Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism?
News media now quotes young adults more often than in the past, with an emphasis on the negative issues. Media representation of young adults with autism are also often negative, increasing public’s stigma towards them. This study investigated how journalists frame autism stories in news articles ca...
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| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
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Nanyang Technological University
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177420 |
| _version_ | 1824455716493066240 |
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| author | Leow, Yan Jie |
| author2 | Ho Moon-Ho, Ringo |
| author_facet | Ho Moon-Ho, Ringo Leow, Yan Jie |
| author_sort | Leow, Yan Jie |
| collection | NTU |
| description | News media now quotes young adults more often than in the past, with an emphasis on the negative issues. Media representation of young adults with autism are also often negative, increasing public’s stigma towards them. This study investigated how journalists frame autism stories in news articles can affect public’s perception of young adults with autism, exploring different framings which can increase public’s knowledge of autism, and reduce stigma against young adults with autism. The sample consisted of 117 participants randomly assigned to one of the two conditions where participants read a news article framed: (1) episodically; or (2) thematically. Participants filled out a pre- and post-test questionnaire consisting of Autism Stigma and Knowledge Questionnaire (ASK-Q) and the Bogardus Social Distance scale. Results indicated that the use of thematic or episodic framings in news articles had no influence in participants’ knowledge on autism. Reading a thematically framed news article increased public’s stigma in terms of higher social distance, but did not impact the public’s stigma towards individuals with autism as measured by ASK-Q stigma, whereas reading an episodically framed news article significantly increased public’s stigma towards individuals with autism, reflected on both ASK-Q stigma and social distance measures. Reading a news article framed episodically seemed to increase public’s stigma towards young adults with autism more than reading a news article framed thematically. Qualitative feedback suggests that participants thought the news articles were negatively written, which could have contributed to the increased stigma. Limitations and future research directions were discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:42:38Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/177420 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:42:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Nanyang Technological University |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1774202024-06-02T15:32:43Z Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? Leow, Yan Jie Ho Moon-Ho, Ringo School of Social Sciences Chen Mo HOmh@ntu.edu.sg Social Sciences Autism Young adults Framing effect News article Stigma Knowledge News media now quotes young adults more often than in the past, with an emphasis on the negative issues. Media representation of young adults with autism are also often negative, increasing public’s stigma towards them. This study investigated how journalists frame autism stories in news articles can affect public’s perception of young adults with autism, exploring different framings which can increase public’s knowledge of autism, and reduce stigma against young adults with autism. The sample consisted of 117 participants randomly assigned to one of the two conditions where participants read a news article framed: (1) episodically; or (2) thematically. Participants filled out a pre- and post-test questionnaire consisting of Autism Stigma and Knowledge Questionnaire (ASK-Q) and the Bogardus Social Distance scale. Results indicated that the use of thematic or episodic framings in news articles had no influence in participants’ knowledge on autism. Reading a thematically framed news article increased public’s stigma in terms of higher social distance, but did not impact the public’s stigma towards individuals with autism as measured by ASK-Q stigma, whereas reading an episodically framed news article significantly increased public’s stigma towards individuals with autism, reflected on both ASK-Q stigma and social distance measures. Reading a news article framed episodically seemed to increase public’s stigma towards young adults with autism more than reading a news article framed thematically. Qualitative feedback suggests that participants thought the news articles were negatively written, which could have contributed to the increased stigma. Limitations and future research directions were discussed. Bachelor's degree 2024-05-27T03:52:12Z 2024-05-27T03:52:12Z 2024 Final Year Project (FYP) Leow, Y. J. (2024). Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism?. Final Year Project (FYP), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177420 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177420 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University |
| spellingShingle | Social Sciences Autism Young adults Framing effect News article Stigma Knowledge Leow, Yan Jie Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title | Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title_full | Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title_fullStr | Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title_short | Does different framing in news articles influence the public’s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism? |
| title_sort | does different framing in news articles influence the public s knowledge and stigmatisation towards young adults with autism |
| topic | Social Sciences Autism Young adults Framing effect News article Stigma Knowledge |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177420 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leowyanjie doesdifferentframinginnewsarticlesinfluencethepublicsknowledgeandstigmatisationtowardsyoungadultswithautism |