Generality vs. specificity of attitudes towards people with disabilities

Abstract

This study explored the generality vs. specificity of attitudes as measured by the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale. This scale is a new measure devised to measure discomfort in social interaction posited to be experienced by people with low levels of prior contact with people with disabilities. Twelve parallel versions of the IDP Scale were administered to a sample of 481 respondents. Eleven versions specified a different disabling condition in the preamble to the scale, whilst one version was based on the general concept of disability. Analyses of variance indicated that type of disability did not significantly influence responding, whereas a significant main effect emerged for level of prior contact. These findings are interpreted as providing support for the rationale of the IDP Scale and for the operation of generalized attitudes towards people with disabilities. Further analysis using t tests revealed six significant differences between parallel forms for diabetes, AIDS, drug dependence and other disabilities. These results were interpreted as reflecting high public awareness of these conditions and the likelihood that they fall outside the public definition of disability.