Academic Journal
Self-reported vaccine hesitancy and refusal among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental delays: a cross-sectional study.
| Τίτλος: | Self-reported vaccine hesitancy and refusal among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental delays: a cross-sectional study. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Kara-Aksay A; Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Health Sciences University, İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. ahukara01@hotmail.com.; Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences University, Izmir , İzmir, Turkey. ahukara01@hotmail.com., Özyurt G; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Health Sciences University, İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey., Emir B; Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey., Özgül-Katırcıoğlu D; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Health Sciences University, İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey., Erten-Almak T; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Bandirma Onyedi Eylül University, Balıkesir, Turkey. |
| Πηγή: | European journal of pediatrics [Eur J Pediatr] 2026 Jun 19; Vol. 185 (7). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 19. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer Verlag Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 7603873 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-1076 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03406199 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur J Pediatr Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Berlin : Springer Verlag Original Publication: Berlin, New York, Springer-Verlag. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Autism Spectrum Disorder*/psychology , Parents*/psychology , Vaccination Hesitancy*/psychology , Vaccination Hesitancy*/statistics & numerical data , Developmental Disabilities*/psychology , Vaccination Refusal*/statistics & numerical data , Vaccination Refusal*/psychology , Vaccination*/psychology , Vaccination*/statistics & numerical data, Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Male ; Child, Preschool ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Self Report ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Child ; Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Due to the spread of misinformation that some vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many parents report changes in their vaccination behavior following a diagnosis of ASD, putting their children at increased risk for preventable diseases. Our study aimed to determine the rate of vaccination-related concerns and refusal behaviors in parents of children with ASD and non-autistic developmental delays (non-ASD-DD) and to examine factors potentially associated with vaccine hesitancy and refusal. In our study, a questionnaire was distributed to all parents of children diagnosed with ASD and non-ASD-DD who attended outpatient check-ups over 3 months at the Child Psychiatry Clinic of the two large hospitals. Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing self-reported vaccination behaviors before and after diagnosis, as well as separate Likert-scale items evaluating vaccine-related beliefs and attitudes. No parents declined participation, and all 154 eligible parents were included in the study. Among the respondents, 87.7% were mothers. The most common diagnoses were intellectual disability (41.6%) and ASD (31.2%). Reported vaccine refusal increased from 3.9% before diagnosis to 9.7% after diagnosis (p = 0.012). The main reason cited for hesitancy or refusal was the belief that vaccines had caused their child's neurodevelopmental condition. No independent associations were found between post-diagnosis vaccine hesitancy/refusal and parental education, income, source of vaccine information, or depression/anxiety scores. However, 88.3% of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that vaccines cause ASD or developmental disorders. Conclusions: Parental concerns about vaccines persist after a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. Tailored education and communication strategies are essential to support informed vaccine decision-making in these families and to prevent refusal for both diagnosed children and their siblings. What's Known: • Persistent misinformation linking childhood vaccines-particularly the MMR vaccine-to autism spectrum disorder continues to influence parental attitudes toward vaccination. • Parents of children with ASD have been shown to exhibit higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, especially regarding vaccination of younger siblings. What Is New: • Vaccine hesitancy and refusal were more frequently reported after the diagnosis of not only autism spectrum disorder but also other developmental delays, including intellectual disability and speech delay. • Although concerns about vaccines causing developmental disorders were common, vaccine refusal remained relatively uncommon and no independent predictors of post-diagnosis hesitancy or refusal were identified, highlighting the complex nature of parental vaccination decisions. (© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethical approval: The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of İzmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital (Protocol number: 2024/01–16 and Date of approval: 05 February 2024). Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Autism; Children; Parents; Vaccine hesitancy; Vaccine refusal |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260619 Date Completed: 20260619 Latest Revision: 20261010 |
| Update Code: | 20261010 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00431-026-07179-9 |
| PMID: | 42319500 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1432-1076 |
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| DOI: | 10.1007/s00431-026-07179-9 |