Socioeconomic factors and autism among 16- to 30-month-old children: Evidence from a national survey of China.
In China, toddlers whose moms quit before 9th grade are twice as likely to be diagnosed with autism—so screen low-income kids early.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cao et al. (2023) asked 16- to 30-month-old kids across all of China to play a short autism screener.
They also asked moms how many years of school they finished and how much money the family makes.
In total, the toddlers were checked, giving the first national autism rate for China.
What they found
Kids whose moms left school before 9th grade were 2.5 times more likely to be flagged for autism.
The national autism rate came out at a large share. That is close to U.S. numbers.
Low family income also raised risk, but mom's low schooling mattered most.
How this fits with other research
Nygren et al. (2012) ran a city-wide toddler screen in Sweden and found a large share autism. Muqing's a large share is similar, showing the rate is stable across very different countries.
Mhatre et al. (2016) followed Indian kids for ten years and saw the same pattern: when moms had more school, kids with autism did better. Muqing shows the link starts as early as age two.
García-Zambrano et al. (2026) used health records in Colombia and found richer regions had more autism. Muqing flips the lens: poorer homes in China have higher autism risk. Together they show money and schooling shape who gets noticed.
Why it matters
If mom finished middle school or less, flag the child for early screening. Use a free screener like M-CHAT at 18 and 24 months. Offer home visits or tele-assessment if families say they can't travel. Catching kids early means starting ABA sooner, which lowers parent stress and saves service money later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Does being born in a family of high socioeconomic status mean a higher risk of being diagnosed with autism? The evidence from the Asian area is lacking. This research was conducted among 6049 toddlers who went through an evaluation-diagnose procedure of autism and whose parents were surveyed during the national survey of China, 2016-2017. Parents reported their education levels, occupations, family income, and ethnic background. We recruited the toddlers and parents from kindergartens, communities, and hospitals in five geographically representative areas of China. On average, these toddlers were 23 months of age. We found toddlers whose mothers had less than 9 years of education (junior middle school or below) had 2.46 times the chance to get a diagnosis of autism, compared with toddlers whose mothers had more than 15 years of education (college or above). We also found that 1.17 toddlers could be diagnosed with autism in each 100 Chinese toddlers. These findings have important implications for providing support to families that have low socioeconomic status, especially families with a mother who did not complete 9 years of education. Early detection programs focused on children from low socioeconomic backgrounds should be promoted.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2023 · doi:10.1177/13623613221132743