THE ANTONINUS JOURNAL

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been a focus of several governments, medical and non-medical institutes, and autism-specific organizations around the globe. The United Nations (U.N.) has pointed out that due to the diverse conditions each individual possesses, a vast majority of individuals with ASD experience unemployment and underemployment. This is seen as an expensive, overlooked opportunity, resulting in a loss of productivity, an increased demand for government-provided services, and an added financial burden on families. This study focuses on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to determine employers’ intentions in hiring persons with ASD. TPB’s antecedents, such as attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, as well as company profiles, will be assessed to ascertain the impact of factors driving employers’ intentions. This study utilized a purposive sampling technique, with 202 respondents involved in the recruitment process as samples. Frequency and percentage were used to assess the respondents’ profiles in terms of the company’s industry, size, and whether they currently have a coworker with a disability. A correlational design and regression analysis were utilized to determine the effects of TPB’s antecedents. Results have shown that all antecedents have a positive effect on the intention to hire persons with ASD, with perceived behavioral control (rho = 0.88) having the strongest positive effect, followed by subjective norms (rho = 0.78) and, lastly, attitude (rho = 0.68).