Psychological Science Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-31-2026
Abstract
Bilingualism has multiple benefits, however, non-native English speakers in the United States often lose their minority language. Nevertheless, language attrition is preventable, as parental perceptions of bilingualism (PoB) contribute to a child’s active use of each language and influence proficiency. At present, there is a significant gap in understanding how different cultures and belief systems might influence the language development of autistic children from bilingual Latino families. Furthermore, research on PoB among parents of autistic children has mainly been qualitative in nature. The purpose of this study was to (a) employ a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to develop a culturally and linguistically appropriate scale for both Latino autistic and non-autistic populations to quantify parental PoB and (b) to assess the psychometric properties of the scale. The study used a cross-sectional mixed-methods approach comprised of two separate stages. The first stage followed a qualitative and CBPR framework to develop the scale, and the second stage involved psychometric testing to assess construct validity and reliability of the scale. Results from stage 1 yielded significant revisions to the scale, particularly highlighting the relationship between bilingualism and its emotional value. Results from stage 2 suggested that the revised scale possessed good internal consistency (α = .93). Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a three-factor structure explaining 71.86% of the variance: General PoB (54.78%), Cultural and Emotional Benefits (10.05%), and Value of Bilingualism in the United States (7.03%). The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .93). The Bilingualism Reflections: Assessment of Values and Opinions scale provides a valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive measure of parental PoB, addressing significant gaps in bilingualism research among autistic Latino populations. The findings underscore the importance of stakeholder involvement and offer clinicians and educators valuable insights to support bilingual development strategies tailored to culturally diverse autistic children and their families.
Recommended Citation
Ramirez, A. C., Gasquoine, P. G., Weimer, A. A., Gonzalez-Nunez, G., Maldonado-Coronado, J. R., Surrain, S., Gonzalez-Barrero, A. M., & Montiel-Nava, C. (2026). A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach to Evaluating Perceptions of Bilingualism Among Latino Parents of Autistic Children. First Language, 01427237251407502. https://doi.org/10.1177/01427237251407502
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
First Language
DOI
10.1177/01427237251407502
Comments
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages