Disabled Persons Scale Research Articles

Perceptions towards disability among social work students in Israel: Development and validation of a new scale.

Over the last decades, the disability movement has been advocating for a paradigmatic shift in how disability is perceived and managed: from a medical or individual perspective focusing on the person's body and mind to a social perspective emphasizing the context and barriers of disability. However, we still know little about the perceptions of helping professionals, particularly social workers who work closely with disabled people. Thus, the aim of the current study is to develop and validate a scale-Perceptions Toward Disability Scale (PTDS)-to measure how social workers view disability: as an individual or social category. This paper describes the three phases of the scale's construction. First, scale items were formulated and its content validity was examined. Next, a pilot of 30 social workers completed a questionnaire and an initial exploratory factor analysis was conducted. In the third and main phase, the final draft was completed in 2016 by 565 Israeli social work students to assess its psychometric properties. Both exploratory and confirmatory factorial validity and discriminant validity analyses were conducted. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed two distinct factors: an individual perspective of disability comprised of eight items (α=0.77) and a social perspective of disability comprised of ten (α=0.66). Subsequent analyses supported the scale's discriminant validity as indicated by the lack of an association between the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) and the social model subscale (r=.13, p=.19) and by the weak negative relation with the individual model subscale (r=-.25, p=.01). These findings show that the PTDS possesses promising construct validity and provide support for its utility. This easy-to-administer instrument offers several practical benefits and can serve as a framework for further empirical research regarding social work practice with disabled people.

The Educators’ Attitudes Toward Disability Scale (EADS): A Pilot Study

This article presents the Educators’ Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS). This scale was developed from the Social Workers Attitudes toward Disability Scale (SWADS). A sample of 128 postsecondary educators from one college and one university in Ontario, Canada completed the EADS, the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP), and a demographic questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to verify that the subscales from the original SWADS (i.e. affect, behaviour/practice, and cognition) were present in the EADS. Pearson’s correlation was also calculated between the scores on the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons-Form B (ATDP-B) and the EADS as a measure of validity. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for the purpose of internal reliability among the items in the EADS. Preliminary findings suggest that the EADS may be a valid and reliable instrument, but measures attitudes unidimensionally.

Skala interakcije sa osobama s ometenošću - provjera faktorske strukture

Examining attitudes towards people with disabilities has been a field of interest of numerous authors in recent years. Accordingly, different scales for measuring attitudes have been used, both at social and personal level. Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale is the most widely used scale for measuring attitudes at personal level . It is designed to measure attitudes regarding the discomfort that people can feel when engaging in social interaction with people with disabilities. The aim of this paper was to determine the factor structure of the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale. The research included 462 students of the Faculty of Medicine in Foča, who were attending three study programs: Medicine, Special Education and Rehabilitation and Health Care. In order to determine the factor structure of the scale, the main components were extracted with orthogonal varimax rotation. The results showed that two factors were found which explain 37,69% of variance and were named Empathy and Discomfort and Fear. Three items with low factor saturation were omitted from this version of the scale. Disagreement with other authors with regard to the number of factors obtained imposes the need to check the structure of the IDP scale on different and numerous samples for the purpose of evaluating the invariance of the scale in different contexts.

The effect of disability empathy activity on the attitude of nursing students towards disabled people: a pilot study

Background: Nurses care for disabled people in society.Objectives: The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the effect of disability empathy activities on strengthening the positive attitudes of nursing students towards disabled people.Design: An experimental study. Pretest–Posttest control group arrangement was used.Methods: This research has been conducted with 116 nursing students (53 experimental and 63 control). The data were collected with “Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale” (ATDP).Results: Before the experiment, there was no significant difference between ATDP scores of experimental and control groups (p > 0.05). After the experiment, second ATDP scores of experimental group (66.81 ± 14.27) were found to be significantly higher than the scores of control group (59.02 ± 11.71) (p = 0.002). After six months, third ATDP scores of experimental group (63.58 ± 13.46) were also found to be higher than the scores of control group (58.43 ± 11.03) (p = 0.025).Conclusions: Empathy activities applied to understand disabled people affected the attitudes of student nurses towards disabled people positively.

Changes of attitudes toward students with Down syndrome using the program of imagined contact

Assessment of the effectiveness of the program of imagined contact is important because it provides information about the justification of its use in the classroom. The aim of this study was to determine whether the program of imagined contact affected the attitudes of students toward their peers with Down syndrome, and whether the knowledge of Down syndrome, contact with these people, and empathy of respondents had an impact on the efficiency of the program of imagined contact. The survey included 50 fourth grade students of elementary schools, divided into an experimental group, which participated in the program of imagined contact, and a control group. Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps Scale, The Contact with Disabled Persons Scale, Children's Knowledge about Handicapped Persons Scale and Interpersonal Reactivity Index were applied in this research. Pupils showed more positive attitudes towards people with Down syndrome, as well as a higher level of knowledge about them after the implementation of the program of imagined contact compared to the assessment before the implementation of a program, while the attitudes remained unchanged in the control group. Implementation of this program had no effect on the correlation of attitudes towards people with Down syndrome with knowledge about them and contact with this population, or with empathy of subjects. The use of the program of imagined contact in teaching is justified in order to prepare students for the possible arrival of a child with Down syndrome in the class.

School counsellor training, attitudes, and perceptions of preparedness to provide services to students with disabilities in inclusive schools in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of school counsellors’ attitudes and training on their perceptions of preparedness to provide services to students with disabilities (SWD). Participants were 105 practicing school counsellors who completed the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale Form-O (ATDP-O) as well as the School Counsellor Preparedness Survey-Revised (SCPS-R) in a web-based format. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted with three types of counsellor training (courses, experiences and conferences/workshops) and counsellor attitudes towards SWD. The results revealed that school counsellors’ attitudes and training significantly predicted preparedness with an approximately 10% of variance explained. Out of all four variables, attitudes appeared to be the only significant predictor of preparedness scores. Results also indicated that school counsellors did not feel completely prepared to work with SWD.

Adolescent Summer Camp Volunteers' Attitudes Toward Peers with Disabilities

ABSTRACTThis study explored the malleability of adolescent attitudes toward their peers with disabilities after volunteering in a summer day-camp. The Contact with Disabled Persons Scale (CDP) and the Multi-Dimensional Attitude Scale (MAS) were used to collect data in order to determine the association between volunteering in a recreation-based summer day camp and adolescent attitudes toward disability. After a covariate-adjusted regression analysis, contact with individuals with disabilities was found to significantly predict change in attitudes toward disability. Dyadic interviews were held after camp participation to provide additional sources of data with potential for deeper understanding of the camp experience for volunteers. The data suggested that participants perceived camp as a setting for the development of relationships with peers who have disabilities. These relationships further framed participants' understanding of the experience as fun, difficult, and resulting in perceived personal change. Implications for future research are discussed.

Postawy studentów i pracowników opieki zdrowotnej wobec osób niepełnosprawnych – przegląd doniesień

There are different sorts of stereotype, prejudice or discrimination against the handicapped individuals, which obviously influences the social attitude towards such people. This article contains an assessment of students’ attitudes toward people with different disabilities. The assessment was done on the basis of literature review. The authors of this paper have briefly described some of the research tools used to assess these attitudes: the scale ATDP – Attitudes Towards Disabled People; scale SADP – scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons; scale DSATHS – Dental Students’ Attitudes Toward the Handicapped Scale; scale CDP – Contact with Disabled Persons Scale and questionnaire IDP – Interaction with Disabled Persons; instrument ATPDSC – Attitudes Toward Physically Disabled College Students. Based on a literature analysis, it might be noticed that medical students or healthcare professionals, like individuals from outside the healthcare sector, do not necessarily have positive attitudes toward disabled people.

Socio-ecological influences of attitudes toward disability among Kenyan undergraduate students

This study examined personal and contextual variables as predictors of attitudes toward disability at a Kenyan higher education setting. Participants were a convenience sample of 309 undergraduate students at a Kenyan university enrolled in Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Political Science, and Public Administration majors. Data on attitudes were collected using the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons scale (ATDP: Antonac & Livneh, 1988). A cross-sectional survey design was employed for data collection, and a multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis. Results revealed that the model was significant: F (9, 250) = 2.784, p = 0.004. However, only age (β = 0.173, p = 0.044) significantly predicted attitudes towards disability, indicating older students held more positive attitudes than their younger counterparts. Older students had a more favourable attitude towards people with disabilities than younger students. Seniority, by age, is highly valued in Africa than perhaps anywhere in the world. Kenyan older adults may be key to enhancing favourable attitudes toward individuals with disabilities in Kenya as well as interventions aimed at changing negative attitudes towards people with disabilities.

Actitud de universitarios hacia las personas con discapacidad

The objective of this study is to describe and compare the attitudes towards disabled persons found among students majoring in education and those in other professions, and at different levels of training. A descriptive correlational design was used on a sample of 260 male and female students from a private university in the city of La Serena, Chile. The Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale was applied, as developed by Verdugo, Januarius and Arias (1995). The results show all the students demonstrate positive attitudes. As for college major or discipline and level of study, no statistically significant differences were found. Therefore, it is possible to infer that students are favorably predisposed to behaving effectively with people who have disabilities, by assessing their capabilities positively and acknowledging their fundamental rights.

Contact with Young Adults with Disability Led to a Positive Change in Attitudes toward Disability among Physiotherapy Students.

To determine whether contact over 8 weeks with a person with disability benefits physiotherapy students' attitudes toward disability and their development of professional behaviours and skills. Sixteen adults with Down syndrome were matched with 16 physiotherapy students (13 women, 3 men; mean age 22.5 [SD 3.0] years) and randomized to either an 8-week, twice-weekly walking programme or an 8-week, once-weekly social activities programme. Students completed the Interaction with Disabled Persons scale, the Community Living Attitudes scale, and the Barriers to Exercise scale and rated their competency in professional behaviours and skills. There were no differences between the groups for any outcome. Across both groups, students showed positive changes in attitudes toward disability, self-ratings of professional behaviours, and confidence in working with people with disability. After an 8-week programme, physiotherapy students reported being more comfortable with and having more confidence in working with people with disability. These data support the idea that contact with people with disability in community settings has positive benefits for physiotherapy students, regardless of the content of the experience.

A Psychometric Validation of the Internal and External Motivation to Respond Without Prejudice Toward People With Disabilities Scale

Objective: To determine the factorial validity of the Internal and External Motivation to Respond without Prejudice toward People with Disabilities Scale (D-IMS/EMS).Design: A quantitative descriptive design using factor analysis.Participants: 233 rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation services students.Results: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for the 2-factor structure of the D-IMS/EMS. The internal motivation and external motivation factors were found to correlate with the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons—Form A and the Contact with Disabled Persons Scale in the predicted direction.Conclusions: The D-IMS/EMS appears to have sufficient reliability and validity; the 2-factor solution was found to be acceptable. Further research with other groups of participants is needed.

Pharmacy student comfort in communicating with persons with disabilities

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between pharmacy students’ self-reported discomfort during interactions with persons with disabilities and the amount of overall and education-specific contact students have had with persons with disabilities. MethodsFirst-year and final-year PharmD students at five schools completed questionnaires containing three scales. The Interaction with Disabled Persons scale assessed discomfort. The Contact with Disabled Persons scale assessed amount and types of interactions with persons with physical disabilities. A new instrument collected information about professional program educational experiences with or about persons with disabilities. ResultsFinal-year students and those reporting higher levels of contact with persons with disabilities reported lower levels of discomfort. The number of reported educational experiences with persons with disabilities was small and research failed to identify specific educational practices that were associated with students’ comfort levels. ConclusionsFurther work is needed to determine the types and quantity of educational experiences that best prepare pharmacy students to relate comfortably and effectively to persons with disabilities.

Implicit Association Tests of Attitudes Toward Persons With Disabilities

The authors assessed 3 of the currently available implicit association tests designed to measure attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The Revised Multiple Disability Implicit Association Test, the Implicit Association Test for Attitudes Toward Athletes With Disabilities, and the Disability Attitude Implicit Association Test were related to each other, demonstrating some consistency in measurement. They were mostly unrelated, however, to more traditional, explicit measures of attitudes toward persons with disabilities. In addition, although the implicit association tests were not related to socially desirable responding, the most psychometrically sound explicit measure (The Interaction With Disabled Persons Scale) was related to socially desirable responding.

Attitudes of nursing students toward people with disabilities

Attitudes of healthcare professionals are major factors in the rehabilitation and self-acceptance of people with disabilities. Consequently, it is important that nurses develop or maintain positive attitudes towards people with disabilities during their education. Nevertheless, more knowledge is needed about current attitudes of nursing students and factors influencing these attitudes. To investigate the attitude of Turkish nursing students towards people with disabilities and demographic variables mostly influence this attitude. The sample of the study comprised of 587 undergraduate nursing students. This descriptive study was conducted at two nursing schools and two health schools at undergraduate level located in three different cities in Turkey. Data were collected in a class composed of students from schools between January and April 2009. The questionnaire used in the study consisted of four parts: (1) a demographic data sheet; (2) background in disability (3) contact and experiences with disabled people (4) The Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP-form O). All of the participants were female with a mean age of 22.25 ± 1.53. Only 2% of the participants reported having a physical disability themselves. The mean ATDP score was 64.27 ± 0.36 (range 33-96). The age, school type, prior knowledge, giving care to disabled people in the family and social life were found statistically significant factors for having positive attitudes (p<0.05). The age group, type of school, prior education regarding the disabled and the condition of caregiving to disabled people are factors influencing nursing students' attitudes towards people with disabilities.

A curriculum focused on informed empathy improves attitudes toward persons with disabilities.

Empathy is an important component of the provider-patient relationship. In the United States one in five persons has a disability. Persons with disabilities perceive gaps in health care providers’ understanding of their health care preferences and needs. The purpose of this study was to use valid and reliable assessment methods to investigate the association between empathy and attitudes toward persons with disabilities and advocacy. An educational module was developed to enhance health care students’ capacity for informed empathy. Pre- and post-assessment measures included the Attitude toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP), the Attitudes toward Patient Advocacy Microsocial scale (AMIA) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). ATDP (t(94) = −5.95, p = .000) and AMIA (t(92) = −5.99, p = .000) scores increased significantly after the education module. Correlations between the pre- or post-module ATDP or AMIA scores and the IRI scores were not significant. Empathy in general may not be sufficient to ensure optimal attitudes toward persons with disabilities or advocacy in pre-health care professionals. However, a curriculum based on informed empathy and focused on the experiences of persons with disabilities can result in more positive attitudes toward and advocacy for people with disabilities.

Attitudes of Nurses Toward Children With Disabilities: The Attitudes of Nursing Students Toward Children With Disabilities: An Experimental Design

The attitudes of U. S. nurses toward children with disabilities have not been adequately measured over time and after an educational intervention. Disability content has not been a priority in nursing education and, if present, the focus has been on adults with disabilities. The attitudes of nurses play a significant role in the provision of quality healthcare services they provide for children with disabilities. This quantitative, experimental research measured the attitudes of graduating nursing students (N=88) toward children with disabilities utilizing the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP-B) before and after disability education. The control group consisted of 44 nurses while a group of 44 nurses received the treatment. The differences between the groups was measured at pretest (time 1), immediate posttest (time 2) after an educational module, and delayed posttest (time 3) one month follow up, utilizing repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multivariate tests for within subject effect of the ATDP-B demonstrated that the dependent variable of attitudes as measured by the ATDP-B scale changes over time and after an educational module based on children with disabilities were (F=[2,85]=28.59, p<0.01). It was discovered that the ATDP-B level changes over time, dependent on the group (F=[2,85]=51.15, p<0.01). Also, the between subjects main effect of group was significant across ATDP-B measurements (F=[1,86]=32.53, p<0.01) (Table 6 and 7). The results of this research suggest that there is a significant difference in means of ATDP-B measurements between groups which indicates that the graduating nurses who received disability education performed significantly better on an assessment of attitudes toward children with disabilities than those who did not receive the education. The findings of this research should compel nursing faculty to reevaluate curriculum content, provide specific attitude measurements of nursing students at various levels of education, and develop protocols that can assist students in learning to care for children with disabilities. Future research on the attitudes of nurses toward children with disabilities can also be designed to measure attitudes of nurses in several nursing education programs across the U. S, or evaluate the attitudes of numerous other healthcare professionals caring for children with disabilities.

Enhancing positive attitudes towards disability: evaluation of an integrated physiotherapy program

Purpose: This study explored whether attitudes towards disability in second year undergraduate physiotherapy students could be enhanced by an on-campus integrated curriculum program. Methods: A pre-post design was used. Year 2 (pre-clinical) students participated in a 12-week program focused on optimising attitudes towards people with acquired or developmental neurological disability. The Discomfort subscale of the Interaction with Disabled Persons scale, rated on a six-point Likert scale, was applied prior to and at completion of the 12-week program, and compared to year 4 students, just prior to graduation. Qualitative data from year 2 reflective narratives was also gathered. Results: Forty-seven second year and 45 fourth year physiotherapy students participated. The difference in Discomfort subscale scores between weeks 1 and 12 of year 2 was statistically significant (p = 0.0016). The difference in Discomfort subscale scores between year 2 week 1 and year 4 students was also statistically significant (p = 0.040). There was no significant difference in attitudes between students at the end of year 2 and the end of year 4 (p = 0.703). Qualitative data supported the development of more positive attitudes towards neurological disability across the 12 week year 2 pre-clinical program. Conclusion: Student attitudes towards people with acquired and/or developmental neurological disabilities can be enhanced through an on campus integrated curriculum program.Implications for RehabilitationStudent attitudes towards disability can be enhanced through an on campus integrated curriculum program.Pre-clinical student attitudes towards disability can achieve levels comparable to that found in senior students following field work experience.

Health promotion for the oldest of old people

The aim of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to health promotion in the oldest old and the barriers that prevent it. A non-random sample (n = 52) of people aged 80 and older participated in a descriptive correlational study. Respondents completed a series of two Likert-type questionnaires. The Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (Walker et al 1995) and Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Persons Scale (Becker et al 1991) were used to measure health behaviours. Differences were noted between the age groups (80-90 and 91-101) for health responsibility, physical activity and nutrition. Impairment was the major barrier to health promotion. To foster optimal living, the health, illness, function and motivation as well as age of older adults must be considered. They should be encouraged to pursue physical, social and intellectual activity, which can enable them to have active and fulfilling lives.

The Multiple Disability Implicit Association Test

The authors report the psychometric properties of the Multiple Disability Implicit Association Test (MDIAT) using the updated implementation procedure and scoring algorithm provided by Greenwald and colleagues. Undergraduate students ( N = 249) completed the four disability condition IATs composing the MDIAT in addition to several self-report scales assessing constructs of interest (e.g., explicit attitude toward persons with disabilities, socially desirable responding, cognitive ability). Consistent with previous research, MDIAT effect scores indicated implicit preference for persons without a disability relative to persons with a disability for four disability conditions and a composite score. MDIAT scores were not related to socially desirable responding or cognitive ability. However, “practice” effects previously found under the conventional scoring algorithm were replicated with the improved scoring algorithm. Finally, scores on the MDIAT were not related to an explicit measure of attitude, the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale. Although the modifications and new scoring algorithm attenuated some problems found in the previous administrations of the MDIAT (e.g., confounds from socially desirable responding), the practice effect persisted. Until more is known about the underlying processes responsible for the decline in IAT effect scores across administrations, those using the MDIAT should interpret only the composite effect score.