AU - Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen AU - Daou, Nidal AU - Sanchez-Ruiz, Maria-Jose AU - Kapp, Steven K. AU - Obeid, Rita AU - Brooks, Patricia J. AU - Someki, Fumio AU - Silton, Nava AU - Abi-Habib, Rudy AB - Although stigma negatively impacts autistic people globally, the degree of stigma varies across cultures. Prior research suggests that stigma may be higher in cultures with more collectivistic orientations. This study aimed to identify cultural values and other individual differences that contribute to cross-cultural differences in autism stigma (assessed with a social distance scale) between college students in Lebanon (n = 556) and those in the United States (n = 520). Replicating prior work, stigma was lower in women than men and in the United States relative to Lebanon. Heightened autism knowledge, quality of contact with autistic people, openness to experience, and reduced acceptance of inequality predicted lower stigma. Collectivism was not associated with heightened stigma. Findings highlight the need to address structural inequalities, combat harmful misconceptions, and foster positive contact to combat stigma. (As Provided) http://search.shamaa.org/abstract_en.gif OP - pp. 1993-2006 PB - Thousand Oaks SAGE Publications 2019 PP - Thousand Oaks SAGE Publications 2019 SN - 13623613 T1 - Factors underlying cross-cultural differences in stigma toward autism among college students in Lebanon and the United States [Article] UL - https://laur.lau.edu.lb:8443/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10725/12418/%28Postprint%29%20Factors.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y Full text (PDF) 1 http://search.shamaa.org/fulltext.gif YR - Thousand Oaks SAGE Publications 2019