INTRODUCTION:

Virtual Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly diagnosed in children, with excessive use of mobile phones. The study underscores the need for cautious screen use during early childhood, considering variables such as age, duration and type of exposure. It highlights the correlation between early and prolonged screen exposure and the emergence of ASD- like behaviours and other cognitive and sensory skills¹.

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a childhood developmental disorder. It is characterized by multiple social, behavioural, and communication difficulties. The prevalence of ASD among children aged 18–30 months in the studied Vietnamese regions was 0.752%, with significantly higher odds in urban settings—2.7 times greater, among boys—4.04 times greater, and children of farming mothers—4.72 times greater compared to their respective reference groups.²

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Assessing knowledge of mothers regarding virtual autism among under five children.

OBJECTIVES:

· Assess the knowledge of virtual autism among mothers of under five children.

· Determine the association of knowledge with selected demographic variables of mothers.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS:

Virtual Autism:

In this study Virtual Autism refers to the condition that occurs when children below the age of five are excessively exposed to screens which leads to autism spectrum disorder like symptoms.

Under Five Children:

In this study under five children refers to those who are in the age group of 0-5 years.

Mothers of Under Five Children:

In this study mothers of under five children defined as mothers who have children between the age group of 0-5 years.

HYPOTHESES:

H0: There is no significant association between knowledge of mothers of under five children regarding virtual autism and selected demographic variables.

H1: There is significant association between knowledge of mothers of under five children regarding virtual autism and selected demographic variables.

ASSUMPTIONS:

· Mothers of under five children may not have basic knowledge regarding virtual autism.

· Selected variables influence knowledge of mothers of under five children.

· Adequate knowledge of mothers may help to identify and manage the early symptoms of virtual autism.

· Mothers of under five children will be cooperative to the study conducted by the researchers.

LIMITATIONS:

· The study was confined to a specific geographical area (selected hospital in Kottayam) which obviously imposes limits to any larger generalization.

· The sample size was minimal (90) and hence it cannot be generalized.

· The study was conducted only among the mothers of under five children and others are not involved.

· The study only assessed the knowledge of mother’s regarding Virtual Autism, but their attitude was not assessed

· The study only included mothers, other primary caregivers such as fathers or grandparents, who may also influence screen exposure, were not considered.

· The data collection period was only five days, which may have limited participation and diversity among the respondents.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess virtual autism and excess screen exposure among children aged below 3 years in the South of Lebanon and which includes 73 participants. The tool used were Questionnaire and Early Childhood Autism Rating Scale. The result shows that (p<0.05) early intervention has based on the relation between screen exposure and ASD like behaviour ,that explains gender specific differences with male having higher susceptibility as 26% of male children are using screen for more than 5 hours daily before the age of one than female children and male children had average scores in the behaviour (8.8+/-4.9) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale, CARS (29.4+/-11.7) assessments comparing to female children who had lesser averages(6.2+/- 5.04 for behaviour and 22.6+/- 8.7 for CARS). The study recognized that the parents are to be informed about parenting practices and keep an eye on the excessive screen exposure during the early age from 0-3 years.³

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital, South India in September 2020 to estimate the effect of lockdown on psychosomatic problems and their association with the screen time. The total number of participants in the study was 318 parents and the samples belongs to the age between 1 to 12 years. The samples were selected after taking informed consent from their parents. The tool used for the study was questionnaire through Google form which consist of 20 questions. The results of the study shows that only 278 samples were participated in the final study and the mean age was 6.92(3.01) about (55.045%) were males. Most of the children in this age group are having symptoms of aggression, tantrums, dullness and other behavioural problems. The study concluded that there is a relation between screen time and behavioural problem (P= 0.016) in age group of less than 5.⁴

A Descriptive study used to assess the knowledge regarding virtual autism and its impact of child’s brain development among mothers of school going children in Gwalior, 2023. 30 samples were collected and the data analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The assessment shows that 6 out of 30 mothers of school going were having poor knowledge score while 24 having average score. Knowledge score was 7.10+/- 2.40. The result of the study shows that mother of school going children having average knowledge score regarding virtual autism and its impact on child’s brain development with their selected demographic variables at (p<0.001).⁵

A study was conducted to analyse the awareness of virtual autism and its effects among parents of children between the ages of 0 to 4 years. The samples were the selected from 50 parents (25 to 35 years of age) from the Kannur district, Kerala. The aim of the study was to analyse the awareness of virtual autism among parents. The data was collected by using Questionnaire and the parents were asked to report about their child’s daily average media usage. The assessment shows that 72% of children has regularly use electronic devices for more than 2 hours a day. About 88% percent of parents believed that virtual autism as a type of autism disorder, while 12% are aware about the term virtual autism. The results of the study shows that even though the parents are not aware of the term, but they are aware about the excessive use of electronic devices that adversely affect the child’s development.⁶

A study was conducted in a tertiary hospital, Andhra Pradesh in 2020 to analyse the amount of screen time and occurrence of autism-like symptoms in toddlers. The study was conducted with a sample size of 80 toddlers aged between 9 months to 3 years. The samples were collected using a random sampling technique and the screening was done by using Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers – Revised (M -CHAT- R). The results shows that about 80% of toddlers had parent’s child interaction while other 20% has no interaction. It also shows that as duration of screen time increases, the risk of scoring high on the M- CHAT-R scale also increase.⁷

METHODOLOGY:

Research Design:

A non-experimental descriptive survey design was selected to achieve the objectives of the study.

Setting of the Study:

The study was conducted in the paediatric inpatient and outpatient department in Caritas Matha Hospital, Thellakom, Kottayam.

Population:

Population of the study are mothers of under five children in inpatient and outpatient paediatric department of caritas Matha Hospital, Thellakom.

Sample Size:

The study sample consists of 90 mothers of under five children who visiting inpatient and outpatient paediatric department of Caritas Matha Hospital, Thellakom, Kottayam.

Sampling Technique:

The sampling technique selected for the present study was convenience sampling.

Criteria for Sample Selection:

Inclusion criteria:

Mothers who are,

· Having under 5 children

· Willing to participate

· Able to read and write

· Attending the OPDs and IPDs at the period of data collection

Exclusion criteria:

Mothers who are

· Having children greater than 5 years of age.

· Not willing to participate in the study

· Emotionally unstable.

Tool:

In this study the data collection instruments used are,

Tool 1: Demographic data

Tool 2: Structured Knowledge Questionnaire

Tool 1: Demographic data:

It consists of age of mother, type of family, marital status, occupation, education status, monthly income, area of living, previous information about virtual autism and the source of information.

Tool 2: Structured Knowledge Questionnaire:

It consists of various aspects like etiology, risk factor, signs and symptoms, identification, prevention and management of virtual autism.

The questionnaire included 17 multiple choice questions. Four options were allotted for each question with one mark awarded for each correct answer. The respondents were instructed to put tick (✔) mark against appropriate answer. The highest possible score is 17. Answer key was also prepared. The overall score was categorised into different level of knowledge as follows.

Poor	0-4
Average	5-8
Good	9-12
Excellent	13-17

RESULTS:

Data was completed and analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis reveals that 68.9% have excellent knowledge, 15.6% have good knowledge and 15.6% have poor knowledge. The mean knowledge score was 12.6 ±5.50 a statistically significant association was found between knowledge level and type of family (p=0.009), Marital status (p=0.018) and previous knowledge about virtual autism (p=0.000). The present study attributed there is significant association between level of knowledge and selected demographic variables like marital status and previous knowledge.

CONCLUSION:

The total samples, 14(15.6%) had Poor level of knowledge, none had average, 14(15.6%) had good knowledge and 62(68.9%) had excellent knowledge regarding Virtual Autism. The mean knowledge score was 12.6 and standard deviation was 5.502 showing that mothers have greatest area of knowledge with general information of Virtual Autism.

There was a significant association between level of knowledge of mother’s regarding Virtual Autism and selected demographic variables such as marital status and previous knowledge.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS:

The findings of the study have great implications for nursing practice. Nurses can do great contribution in improving the knowledge of mother’s of under five children regarding Virtual Autism, so that they can pay special attention to the affected child which helps to improve their school performance and self-esteem.

Nursing Education:

Student nurses should have sufficient knowledge regarding Virtual Autism and its management.

Nurses play a major role in providing health teaching on Virtual Autism for mother’s of under five children in community setting.

Nursing Administration:

The nurse administrators are key personnel in utilizing and disseminating the research findings as a basis of practice.

The administrators should teach the staff nurses and motivate them to provide health education to mother’s regarding Virtual Autism.

Awareness programs must be planned and conducted in schools.

Administrators can also plan and organize continuing the nursing education program for the nursing personnel.

Nursing Research:

Extensive research programs should be conducted periodically to assess knowledge and misperceptions regarding Virtual Autism with which mothers can effectively participate in the process of the assessment and treatment decision making for children with Virtual Autism.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

· A similar study can be conducted with a large sample so that the findings can be generalized.

· Further research can be recommended to assess the attitude of mother’s regarding Virtual Autism.

· A similar study can be conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of parents regarding Virtual Autism.

· Further research can be recommended to assess the effectiveness of teaching program regarding Virtual Autism for mothers to improve their knowledge regarding.

· Although the study focused on mothers, involving the entire family in screen management practices can lead to better outcomes. Shared responsibility among fathers, grandparents, and other caregivers helps reinforce consistent screen-time limits and supports healthier child development

· The nurse, family and mothers should be cooperated to detect what exact problems the child facing with Virtual Autism and give proper interventions.

· Enhance future policies and interventions aimed at understanding, assisting and supporting children with Virtual Autism and their mother’s

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Received on 15.10.2025 Revised on 29.11.2025

Accepted on 29.12.2025 Published on 14.02.2026

Available online from February 18, 2026

Research J. Science and Tech. 2026; 18(1):38-42.

DOI: 10.52711/2349-2988.2026.00006

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License.