Developmental Differences in Evaluative Reactions to Physically and Mentally Handicapped Children

Abstract

Children and adolescents in 3rd–4th, 7th–8th, and 11th—12th grades were given a description of a same-sex child who was either nonhandicapped, physically handicapped, or mentally retarded, and who was academically and socially competent or incompetent. Developmental differences in reactions to handicapped children were assessed through measures of attributions for performance, trait perceptions, and expectations for future success. Attributional measures revealed little except an increase in internal attributions with age, especially among girls. While young children stigmatized both physically handicapped and mentally retarded incompetent children under some circumstances, older children leaned toward favoring the incompetent and handicapped children, though high school students also tended to derogate a competent retarded child. Young boys were pessimistic about the future of the physically handicapped child, and young girls about the future of the retarded child; 7th—8th graders did not differentiate a...