Abstract
There are various instruments to measure attitudes toward persons with disabilities (PwD). The Multidimensional Attitudes Scale (MAS) toward PwD is a three-dimension scale with good psychometric properties; the Spanish version has been validated with a four-factor structure. Aim: To examine the factor structure of a cross-cultural adapted version of the Spanish MAS towards deaf persons in a sample of Chilean dental students. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved five Chilean public health experts that reviewed the scale for obtaining a preliminary version of a 30-item modified MAS towards deaf persons; a pilot with 15 dental students was performed, and a final sample composed of 311 students was included. For the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), maximum likelihood estimation (ML) for determining the number of factors and parallel analysis (PA) was used, with Oblimin for the rotation method. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess reliability. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), incremental fit index (IFI), goodness of fit index (GFI), Tucker-Lewis fit index (TLI-NNF) and root mean square of residuals (RMSR) were used to assess model fit. Results: All items had a normal distribution with the exception of items 7 and 10. The four-factor structure without item 10 in this EFA presented an adequate Cronbach’s alpha (>0.83), suggesting acceptable reliability. RMSEA, TLI-NNFI, RMSR, GFI and CFI indices suggested a good fit of the model and were consistent with the literature. Conclusion: The Spanish modified version of the MAS towards deaf persons has a four-factor structure, which in consistent with a previous version of the MAS.
Highlights
One out of seven persons have some kind of disability, comprising one of the most marginalized groups in the world[1,2]
Aim: To examine the factor structure of a cross-cultural adapted version of the Spanish Multidimensional Attitudes Scale (MAS) towards deaf persons in a sample of Chilean dental students. This cross-sectional study involved five Chilean public health experts that reviewed the scale for obtaining a preliminary version of a 30-item modified MAS towards deaf persons; a pilot with 15 dental students was performed, and a final sample composed of 311 students was included
root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), TLI-NNFI, root mean square of residuals (RMSR), goodness of fit index (GFI) and comparative fit index (CFI) indices suggested a good fit of the model and were consistent with the literature
Summary
One out of seven persons have some kind of disability, comprising one of the most marginalized groups in the world[1,2]. A significant proportion of the obstacles that people with disabilities (PwD) face when entering society are determined by the attitudes of the rest of the population, since it has been described that negative attitudes hinder their inclusion in education, employment, health care and social participation[4,5,6]. Unfavorable attitudes and feeling of discomfort regarding people with hearing disability has been described[7,8] hampering their inclusion. Attitudes are usually defined as: “the disposition or tendency to respond positively or negatively about a certain idea, object, person or situation”, which is closely related to our opinions and beliefs, and based on our own experiences[9]. It has been proposed that attitudes involve three components: a cognitive component that refers to thoughts, beliefs, or perceptions about an object/person; an affective component is related to emotion, which can be positive or negative; and a behavioral component linked to a way of acting[10,11]
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