Implicit associations related to physical disability among nursing students

Abstract

BackgroundNegative beliefs about disability are associated with poorer outcomes for individuals with disabilities; understanding disability-related attitudes is critical for clinical care. Recently, interest in attitudes toward people with disabilities has increased; however, most studies focus on explicit attitudes. In contrast, the Disability Attitude Implicit Association Test (DA-IAT) is designed to evaluate respondents’ underlying automatic preferences regarding physical ability. ObjectiveThe aim of this pilot study was to expand the literature on health professionals’ implicit disability attitudes by analyzing the DA-IAT in a sample of nursing students. MethodsA cross-sectional design was utilized with a sample of nursing students (n = 95; 88.7% female). Respondents completed the DA-IAT online before responding to some basic demographic questions. ResultsParticipants associated able-bodied status with positive descriptors more quickly than disability related stimuli. ConclusionsMost participants in this sample of nursing students (87%) mentally associated able-bodiedness with desirable traits in a more efficient manner than disability. Future research should focus on developing models to better understand the relationship between automatic processing, disability-related attitudes, and how this relationship informs clinician behavior.