1.Knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Predicts Motivation to Volunteer: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Psychology Students (Pengetahuan mengenai ASD merupakan peramal untuk kesukarelawanan: Kajian keratan rentas dalam kalangan pelajar Psikologi)
JOCELYN DEANA JOMINOL ; CHING SIN SIAU ; MOHTARAM RABBANI ; MIMI FITRIANA ; MANSOUR AMINI ; AMIRA NAJIHA YAHYA ; JING NI TEE ; MUHAMAD NUR FARIDUDDIN
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2022;20(No.1):65-71
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their parents require support from the community, and could profit
from volunteer work involving the family. At the same time, university students demonstrate a high willingness to
volunteer in community initiatives such as work involving children with ASD. This study aims to examine the relationship
between ASD knowledge and the motivation to volunteer among university students. Students (N=150) from a private
university in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, participated in this study. Instruments utilized in this study were the Stone
Autism Survey and Volunteer Functions Inventory. The results indicated that a higher level of ASD knowledge was the
strongest predictor of higher motivation to volunteer after adjusting for relevant demographic factors and exposure to
ASD children. Meanwhile, female and Hindu participants reported a significantly higher motivation to volunteer. This
study emphasizes the need to increase factual knowledge about ASD among university students, and any effort to
encourage students to volunteer in helping individuals with ASD should include knowledge sharing about this population.