Culturally Adapting and Piloting a Psychoeducational Autism Intervention for Chinese Immigrant Families

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority in US, and Chinese Americans are the largest ethnic group among them. Meanwhile, there is a steady growth of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, Asian children with ASD are under-diagnosed and underserved compared to White children. Thus, there is a critical need for culturally appropriate interventions addressing these health disparities. The current study culturally adapted and evaluated the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of an empirically-supported parent psychoeducation intervention for Chinese immigrant families of young children with ASD. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I focused on the cultural adaptation of the intervention. Focus groups were conducted with six Chinese immigrant parents and six providers serving this population. Recommendations for adaptation included shifting the delivery mode from in-person family visits to an online group format, involving both professionals and community health workers in delivering the intervention, and adding a brief meditation for each session. Phase II of the study focused on examining the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the intervention. Twenty-seven Chinese immigrant mothers of young children with ASD were recruited from Chicago and NYC for the pilot phase. Overall, the adapted intervention was found to be feasible and acceptable, and showed promising preliminary effects on family outcomes, parental self-efficacy and frequency in using evidence-based strategies, and the number of evidence-based services children were receiving. This study provides important implications for culturally responsive parent psychoeducation interventions targeting diverse families of children with ASD