Explicit and implicit: Ableism of disability professionals

Abstract

BackgroundPeople who work with disabled people or whose work is about disability – disability professionals – often have direct power over disabled people and can impact their lives immensely; they also have a role in creating and institutionalizing knowledge about disability. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) disability attitudes of disability professionals. MethodsBetween October 2021 and February 2023, disability professionals (n = 417) completed the Symbolic Ableism Scale (SAS) and the Disability Attitudes Implicit Association Test (DA-IAT). We had the following research questions: (1.) What are disability professionals' explicit attitudes towards disability? (2.) What are disability professionals' implicit attitudes towards disability? (3.) What is the relationship between disability professionals' explicit and implicit disability attitudes? and (4.) What sociodemographic factors correlate with disability professionals’ explicit and implicit disability attitudes? We examined these questions using descriptive statistics, t-tests, a two-dimensional model of prejudice, and linear regression models. ResultsIn our sample, 77.24% of disability professionals preferred nondisabled people explicitly and 82.03% implicitly. Most commonly, disability professionals were symbolic ableists (37.8%). Race, political orientation, and job type correlated with disability professionals’ explicit attitudes, while disability, gender, and job type correlated with their implicit attitudes. ConclusionsAbleism cannot be eradicated until disability professionals look inward and rid themselves of negative attitudes; until that occurs, disability professionals will continue to do a disservice to the very people they have dedicated their careers to – disabled people.