Same- and cross-gender attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities.

Used the Disability Factor Scale-General (DFS-G) of J. Siller et al (1967) to measure 147 male and 139 female 11th-graders' attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities. A subgroup of Ss responded to a specially prepared version of the DFS-G that referred to males with disabilities, while a 2nd subgroup responded to a 2nd version of the questionnaire that referred to females with disabilities. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed, with scores on the 6 attitude scales of the DFS-G as the dependent variables. The 2 independent variables were Ss' gender and the sex of the person with the disability. Attitudes toward females with disabilities were less positive than attitudes toward males with disabilities. These less positive attitudes were expressed more by boys than by girls. Findings support the theoretical assumption that being disabled and female represents a double minority status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward people with disabilities: The perspective of attachment theory.

Objective: Attachment theory was employed as the theoretical framework for the purpose of examining attitudes toward people with disabilities. Method: A total of 404 Jewish Israeli students without disabilities completed the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS) and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR). Results: Reading a scenario about an encounter with a person with a disability gave rise to more negative emotions than reading a similar scenario about an encounter with a person without a disability, regardless of participants' attachment orientations. However, attachment orientations moderated participants' positive cognitions and distancing behaviors. Conclusions: Findings suggest a dynamic process of self-regulation when reacting to a written scenario about people with disabilities. This process consists of an initial spontaneous negative emotional response accompanied by compensatory positive cognitions and behavioral tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of attitudes toward persons with disabilities: An Israeli validation of Siller's Disability Factor Scales—General (DFS—G).

Investigated the transcultural generalizability of the Disability Factor Scales—General (DFS—G) of J. Siller et al (1967) in 658 Jewish Israeli 11th and 12th graders and undergraduates. All Ss filled out a Hebrew translation of the 69-item DFS—G. Factor analysis of the Ss' responses provided support for the replicability of a major part of the DFS—G's structure. Also, a subsample of 114 Ss was administered the Edwards Social Desirability Scale while a subsample of 197 Ss was administered the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Correlations between some scales of the DFS—G and these 2 measures are discussed as possible evidence that attitudes toward disability may reflect defenses against intra- and interpersonal pressures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The female perspective: women's attitudes toward urogenital aging

Different perspectives toward symptoms of urogenital aging exist among postmenopausal women, influenced by social and cultural factors, but one constant is that women rarely feel able to discuss urogenital problems freely--with their physicians, husbands, or friends. European women >55 years old were brought up to prize "modesty" and to consider urogenital symptoms as private matters that the woman must solve herself. Sexuality in older age groups is recognized as important, but many postmenopausal women are reluctant to complain of deteriorating sex lives. In spite of a different view of the menopause, similar reticence is found in Japan. Physicians need to be better equipped to improve communications between themselves and their postmenopausal patients.     

Contact with and attitudes toward persons with disabilities: The measurement of intergroup contact.

Introduces a contact with disabled persons (CDP) scale that uses 20 items and 5 response categories to measure contact. Reliability data from 238 Ss indicated a corrected median split-half reliability coefficient of 0.93 and a median alpha coefficient of 0.92. Validity was examined by correlating CDP scores with scores on the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale. 10 correlation coefficients ranged from –0.26 to +0.40, with a median correlation of +0.10. Most coefficients were attenuated because of the limited range of scores on one or both measures. The range of correlations indicates the complexity of the relationship between contact and attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attitudes toward rational versus inhibitory parental authority.

"Starting with Fromm's (1941) distinction between rational and inhibitory authority, the study investigates children's attitudes towards their parents' restrictive norms and checking actions… . The results indicate that if parents' restrictive norms and checking actions are accompanied by authoritarian motivations (inhibiting authority), the children's positive attitudes towards these are negatively correlated with chronological age, verbal intelligence… and preference for altruistic alternatives to authoritarian ones… . If the… actions are accompanied by rational motivations (indicating rational parental authority), the attitudes have a tendency to correlate positively with these three independent variables." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4FG15P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity beliefs as a mediator to faculty attitudes toward students with disabilities.

A survey of a sample of faculty (N = 201) at a large, public university located in the Southwest was conducted to investigate whether differences in faculty attitudes toward diversity positively mediate faculty attitudes toward persons with disabilities. In addition, the current study examined whether differences in faculty attitudes toward diversity may be viewed as positively mediating the relationship between instructor characteristics and their attitudes toward persons with disabilities. This study concludes that faculty members may not be viewing disability as part of the greater construct of diversity with empirical evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's relationships with peers: differential associations with aspects of the teacher-child relationship

Associations between children's social competence with peers and differential aspects of their teacher-child relationships were examined in a longitudinal sample of 48 4-year-old children enrolled in child care as infants. Toddler security with teacher was negatively associated with hostile aggression and positively with complex peer play and gregarious behaviors. Prosocial behaviors and withdrawing behaviors were associated with preschool security with teacher. Dependence on teachers as a preschooler was associated with social withdrawal and hostile aggression. Positive toddler teacher socialization was associated with higher perceived peer acceptance. Preschool teacher negative socialization was negatively associated with complex peer play, teacher ratings of hesitancy, friendly enactment, and accidental attribution and positively related to teacher ratings of difficulty.     

The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities

OBJECTIVES: The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities was studied. METHOD: The perceived attitudes of 144 occupational therapy students toward persons with disabilities were measured before (retrospective pretest) and after (posttest) the students attended formal professional education at the University of Alberta. RESULTS: Posttest scores were significantly higher than the retrospective pretest scores, indicating that students' attitudes became more positive after they commenced formal professional education. The posttest scores of students at various levels of education, however, did not show any significant difference. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these observations, a positive but nonlinear relationship between occupational therapy education and attitudes toward persons with disabilities was postulated.     

Children's interpersonal influence with mothers and peers.

Interpersonal influence attempts toward mothers and peers were examined in 75 5-yr-olds. Consistent with a Piagetian view, children were less often immediately successful in their mother-directed attempts than in their peer-directed attempts. However, they were more often able to negotiate a compromise with mothers than with peers. This indicates that interaction with mothers may be more conducive to the development of social competence than interaction with peers. Linkages between both contexts were identified. Children who used abrasive strategies with mothers were aggressive and unsuccessful with peers. Mothers' influence strategies, assessed when children were toddlers and at age 5, predicted children's influence styles with peers: Children whose mothers often used negative control were aggressive and unsuccessful; those whose mothers used polite guidance were rarely inarticulate or coercive; and those whose mothers often issued unclear commands were less successful and less prosocial with their peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor orientation and theoretical attitudes toward counseling: Historical perspective and new data.

Based on the the continued citation of F. E. Fiedler's (see record 1952-00943-001) conclusions about counselor's attitudes being a function of theoretical orientation and experience, 54 counselors from behaviorist, Gestalt, and rational-emotive orientations were compared on 4 subscales of an orientation questionnaire. Results show a significant relationship between counselor orientation and theoretical tenets; level of experience did not contribute significantly to within-groups variance. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's understanding of their emotionally disturbed peers: a replication

Despite increasing recognition of the early importance of peer relations, virtually no systematic information exists on the way in which normal children view their emotionally disturbed peers. This paper reports a replication of recent findings on children's use of the concept of emotional disturbance. Ss were 40 fourth and sixth graders. Five vignettes that described one normal and four emotionally disturbed boys were read to individual Ss; who were interviewed about their understanding of the central figures (CFs). Interviews were coded to a 5-point scale of degree of perceived emotional disturbance. Earlier findings were replicated to a remarkable degree. Ss differentiated among the CFs in a manner congruent with clinician judges' ratings. Grade differences indicate the differential attention to and valuing of specific behaviors, rather than global differences in perception of emotional disturbance.     

Direct and indirect methods to measure attitudes toward persons with disabilities, with an exegesis of the error-choice test method.

Presents principles for the development of an error-choice test to demonstrate how direct and indirect methods are used to measure attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Examples of direct methods are interviews, surveys, sociometrics, rankings, adjective checklist, social distance scales, and paired-comparison scales; all of which are limited by threats to the validity of the resultant data. Indirect methods are physiological, nonobtrusive behavioral observation, projective techniques, and disguised procedures. Indirect methods should be useful among service providers whose responses to a direct method may be biased by respondent sensitization, response styles, and reactive effects. The error-choice method can supplement the direct attitude instruments because of the high probability that direct measurement methods alone will yield biased data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health practitioners' perceptions of family attitudes toward children with disabilities: A comparison of six communities in a multicultural society.

Investigated cultural differences in families' attitudes and expectations regarding children with disabilities, using a survey of 665 health practitioners from the mainstream Anglo and the Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, and Arabic ethnic communities in Australia. While the attitudes of the Germans were similar to those of the Anglo group, attitudes in other communities differed from the Anglo in several ways. There was less expectation that children with disabilities should behave like other children, be included in family outings, play with neighborhood children, or attend school. Their disabilities were more likely to be kept secret but less likely to be perceived as placing a strain on their parents' marriages. A son with a disability was considered particularly tragic. Findings are related to the individualistic or collectivist values of these communities, and to the work of rehabilitation practitioners working in multicultural settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A preliminary investigation of the role of differential complexity and response style in measuring attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Investigated the potentially complex relationship between cognitive complexity and attitudes towards people with disabilities in a 3-part study using 2 undergraduate student samples. In Exp 1 (n ?=?126), Ss' responses to the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale-Form O (ATDP-O) were not significantly correlated with the Repertory Grid Test (RGT). This finding suggests no relationship between attitudes and a measure of cognitive complexity. In Exp 2 (n ?=?57), Ss' responses to the ATDP-O were positively correlated with a disability specific repertory grid technique. This finding suggests an inverse relationship between domain-specific cognitive complexity and positive attitudes. In Exp 3, the findings from Exp 1 were reanalyzed and significant correlations were found between the tendency of Ss to respond redundantly and both positive attitudes and to lower cognitive complexity as measured by the ATDP-O and the RGT, respectively. These findings suggest that a large group of individuals who process information by focusing on differences, rather than similarities, may be inappropriately assessed by the ATDP, or other instruments that use a similar format in assessing attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, attentional focus, and novelty effects: Reactions to peers with disabilities.

Tested the hypothesis that common reactions to people with disabilities are partly due to the attentional consequences of novelty and explored the impact of personality on nondisabled individuals' reactions. Three hundred and fifty one college students completed personality measures (social anxiety, shyness, public self-consciousness, self-monitoring) and indicated their feelings, self and other-focused thoughts, and behavioral intentions concerning a hypothetical encounter with an "average" student or with 2 types of novel peers: student with a disability and an all-round outstanding individual. Implications of the findings, which indicate that (1) novelty provides a partial explanation of interaction problems between nondisabled and disabled peers and (2) personality factors have a different impact on thoughts and feelings about encounters with peers who are novel than on those who are not, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers: A multimethod assessment.

Children's perceptions of popular and unpopular peers were examined in 2 studies. Study 1 examined the degree to which 4th-8th-grade boys and girls (N=408) nominated the same peers for multiple criteria. Children viewed liked others as prosocial and disliked others as antisocial but associated perceived popularity with both prosocial and antisocial behavior. In Study 2, a subset of the children from Study 1 (N=92) described what makes boys and girls popular or unpopular. Children described popular peers as attractive with frequent peer interactions, and unpopular peers as unattractive, deviant, incompetent, and socially isolated. In both studies, children's perceptions varied as a function of the gender, age, and ethnicity of the participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient attitudes toward rooming with persons with HIV infection

BACKGROUND: Early in the HIV epidemic, hospitals developed strict isolation policies for patients with HIV infection, some of which have not been revised. The objectives of this study were to examine patient attitudes about rooming with persons with various medical conditions, including HIV, and to assess their knowledge about the transmission of HIV. METHODS: One hundred four inpatients at a university hospital were surveyed by means of a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Patients were asked about preference for a single or double room, and about their objections to rooming with patients with HIV infection and other medical conditions. The questionnaire also examined subject's knowledge about the transmission of HIV. RESULTS: Of 104 inpatients surveyed, 55% objected to rooming with an HIV-seropositive patient. Patients who objected to rooming with an HIV-seropositive patient were also more likely to object to rooming with a disfigured patient (relative risk = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.2), or with a demented patient (relative risk = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.9). Also, patients who objected to rooming with an HIV-seropositive patient had greater misconceptions about the transmissibility of HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of patients reported an unwillingness to room with patients with HIV infection, but also had misconceptions about the transmissibility of HIV. Current rooming policies may perpetuate misconceptions about the possibility of causal transmission of HIV.