Correlates of oral health fatalism in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Kimberly J HammersmithTaylor A HarlanRachel M FenningJames ChanKevin G StephensonEric A MacklinPaul S CasamassimoJanice A TownsendEric M ButterRobin B Steinberg-EpsteinPublished in: Special care in dentistry : official publication of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry (2021)
About half the caregivers endorsed OHF, with Hispanic caregivers more strongly endorsing OHF. OHF was not significantly associated with oral health behaviors or status, consistent with emerging literature suggesting fatalism is not necessarily linked to health behavior. Further exploration of OHF correlates in families of children with ASD is needed; ethnicity, living situation, child age, and caries status are of interest.