Attitudes toward disabilities among students in college settings: A multidimensional scaling analysis with biplot

We investigated attitudes toward 10 specific groups of individuals with disabilities among students in college settings. These groups comprised major depression, substance use disorder (SUD), anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, learning disability, visual impairment, spinal cord injury, and cancer survivor. The multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis revealed a two-dimension space representing participants’ attitudes toward those disabilities. The MDS biplot further indicated higher levels of perceived dangerousness from the groups with SUD, major depression, anxiety disorder, and ASD. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that cluster A (SUD and major depression) was rated as having the highest level of social distance (i.e., negative attitudes). The implications for research and practice in rehabilitation counseling were discussed.

Influence of an Awareness Program on Portuguese Middle and High School Students' Perceptions of Peers with Disabilities

The ongoing topic of attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Physical Education (PE) classes emphases the role of schools as a primary place where attitudes toward disabilities can be changed. The effect of an awareness program on students' attitudes toward the inclusion of peers with disabilities in PE was examined, as well as variables such as sex, age, previous contact with disability, and competitiveness. The participants were 509 students (235 girls, 274 boys; M age = 13.3 yr., SD = 1.1, range = 11–16), who attended middle and high Portuguese schools. The awareness intervention comprised a one-week program (2 PE classes, 90 min. and 45 min.). Attitudes were assessed before and after the intervention. The awareness program appeared to have a positive influence on changing students' attitudes toward inclusion in PE.

Changing Attitudes Toward Disabilities Through Unified Sports

A cognitive/affective/behavioral intervention was implemented to change attitudes of college students towards individuals with disabilities. College swim team members were randomly assigned to intervention (N = 16), and no-intervention control groups (N = 17), with intervention group students and 8 Special Olympics swimmers working together to pursue swimming-related goals in 4 sessions over a 6-week period. Results indicated that on a revision of the Symons, Fish, McGuigan, Fox, and Akl (2012) attitudes inventory, the intervention group participants displayed significant increases in positive attitudes from pre- to posttest, whereas the control group participants did not. Written participant comments corroborated this improvement. A key element in the improved attitudes was the increased comfort level experienced by the college swimmers in their interactions with the Special Olympics swimmers.

Development and Psychometric Validation of the Dementia Attitudes Scale

This study employed qualitative construct mapping and factor analysis to construct a scale to measure attitudes toward dementia. Five family caregivers, five professionals, and five college students participated in structured interviews. Qualitative analysis of the interviews led to a 46-item scale, which was reduced to 20 items following principal axis factoring with two different samples: college students () and certified nursing assistant students (). Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted with another sample of college students (). The final scale, titled the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS), essentially had a two-factor structure; the factors were labeled “dementia knowledge” and “social comfort.” Total-scale Cronbach's alphas ranged 0.83–0.85. Evidence for convergent validity was promising, as the DAS correlated significantly with scales that measured ageism and attitudes toward disabilities (range of correlations = 0.44–0.55; mean correlation ). These findings demonstrate the reliability and validity of the DAS, supporting its use as a research tool.

Psychosocial Characteristics of Twice-exceptional Individuals: Implications for Rehabilitation Practice

The purpose of this article is to discuss the unique personal and psychosocial characteristics of twice-exceptional individuals (a person who has a disability and is regarded as gifted or talented). This article focuses on the description of those characteristics which relate to psychosocial adaptation and attitudes toward disabilities and giftedness. Emphasis is placed on rehabilitation professionals' awareness and knowledge of such characteristics. This knowledge is needed to skillfully develop tailored interventions that will lead into positive education, counseling, or employment outcomes for these individuals. Implications for rehabilitation education, practice, and research are also discussed.

Attitudes toward disabilities and mental illness in work settings: a review

SummaryAims – The aim of the present work is to analyse employers' and employees' attitudes towards the job integration of people with mental illness or disability and to highlight the socio-demographic and organizational characteristic that are more significantly associated with such attitudes. Method – We performedPsycINFO, AskERIC and Medlinesearches for studies published from 1961 to 2002, with key words such asattitudes, stigma, schizophrenia, mental illness, disability, employers, employees, co-workers and supported employment. Results – Our review of the literature showed that the possibility for people with severe mental illness or disability to enter job market is limited by the discriminating attitudes of employers. The socio-demographic and organizational characteristics, which are more significantly associated with employers' more positive attitudes, are: dimension of the company, previous positive contact with people with disability and employers' high educational level. Conclusions – Such information could be useful to identify and, perhaps, select those companies, which can be predicted as more likely to accept people with mental disorders as part of their work force; they could also be used to train job applicants to improve their social skills. Finally such information could be used to plan specific programs to modify attitudes of employees and employers.Declaration of Interestsin the last two years, the authors have been paid by the IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli in Brescia (Italy), either as employees, or through research assistantships, or as free professionals.