The Older Adult Disability Scale: Development and validation.

Examined the development and validity of the Older Adult Disability Scale (OADS), a self-report instrument designed to measure attitudes toward older adults (aged 60 yrs and older) with physical disabilities. Data from a community sample (n ?=?207) were used for alpha coefficients, subscale intercorrelations, demographic correlations, and factor analyses. Data from a reliability sample (n ?=?27) were used for a 2-week test-retest reliability check; and data from an identified "positive attitude" sample of health care professionals and students (n ?=?57) were used to test construct validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed resulting in a 36-item instrument with four subscales of Cranky Dependency, Discomfort with Aging, Positive Attributes of Aging, and Negative Expectations of Disability. Satisfactory internal consistency, high test-retest reliability, and moderately high subscale intercorrelations were found. Validity was supported by the highly significant differences in OADS scores between the "positive attitude" and community samples. In conclusion, the OADS provides a promising measure of attitudes toward older adults with disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

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)     

A conjoint analysis of factors influencing American and Taiwanese college students' preferences for people with disabilities.

Objective: To determine the effect of demographic variables on attitudes toward disability. Participants: Eighty-three female American and 89 female Taiwanese college students. Outcome Measure: A conjoint measurement of 16 stimulus cards (representing people with varying disability labels, severity of disability, age, gender, and education). Procedures: The participants were asked to sort the stimulus cards according to their personal preferences for working with people with disabilities. Results: Younger and higher educated women with milder disabilities were preferred by both Taiwanese and American students. Preference formation is affected by both disability-related variables and other demographic variables (e.g., educational levels). Conclusion: The use of conjoint analysis to examine multiple attributes of persons with disabilities may have higher external validity than single-attribute-design studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring perceptions of stigmatization by others for seeking psychological help: Reliability and validity of a new stigma scale with college students.

Fear of being stigmatized is the most cited reason why individuals avoid psychotherapy. Conceptually, this fear should be strongest when individuals consider the reactions of those they interact with. Across 5 samples, the authors developed the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH) scale. In Sample 1 (N = 985), the 5 items of the PSOSH were selected (α = .91). In Sample 2 (N = 842), the unidimensional factor structure of the scale was examined across a diverse sample. In Sample 3 (N = 506), concurrent validity was supported through moderate associations with 3 different stigma measures (i.e., public stigma toward counseling, r = .31; public stigma toward mental illness, r = .20; and self-stigma, r = .37). In Sample 4 (N = 144), test–retest reliability across a 3-week period was calculated (.82). Finally, in Sample 5 (N = 130), reliability (α = .78) and validity were explored with a sample experiencing symptoms of psychological distress. Relationships between variables (i.e., public stigma toward counseling, r = .31, and self-stigma, r = .40) were similar to those in previous samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Attitudes toward persons with disabilities.

Reviews the book, Attitudes toward persons with disabilities by Harold E. Yuker (see record 1988-97173-000). In summer, 1986, Harold E. Yuker, one of the well known pioneers of the study of attitudes toward persons with disabilities, convened some of the best scholars and experts in this field to a conference at Hofstra University. The main purpose of this book, a product of the Hofstra conference, is to provide readers with various perspectives on the different aspects of the study of attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The book includes 19 chapters organized into five parts. In Part One, Beatrice Wright presents the concept of the fundamental negative bias toward persons with physical disabilities and provides an extended analysis of the different aspects of this phenomenon in both research and clinical practice. Part Two contains six expertly written papers on the sources of attitudes. The third part of the book focuses on measurement problems. The fourth part of the book is concerned with attitudes of specific groups. Part five shifts to issues related to attitude change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grade level differences in factors of self-esteem.

Investigated the construct validity of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Factor analyses were performed using approximately 1,500 students in public schools in each of Grades 4-8. 3 factors emerged in the grade-level analyses that were related to the Self subscale proposed by S. Coopersmith. 2 factors represented negative attitudes toward the self, while 1 factor represented positive attitudes. Items that loaded into these factors were moderately congruent with the subscale items. 2 factors emerged related to the Home subscale. Items that loaded into these factors were highly congruent with the subscale items. 2 factors expressing bipolar attitudes emerged that were related to the School subscale. The items that loaded into these factors were moderately congruent with the subscale items. One factor emerged that expressed positive attitudes toward the self derived from peers. This factor was related to the Peer subscale through a moderate amount of common items. Grade-level differences were observed in the comparative amount of variance accounted for by factors, as well as the occurrence of factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two studies with the Psychiatric Rehabiliation Attitude Survey.

Evaluated the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Attitude Survey (PRAS) by the 1st author and A. Sklare-Lancaster (1981) in 2 experiments. In Exp I, reliability and validity data of the PRAS were assessed, using 37 vocational rehabilitation practitioners. Results indicate that test–retest reliability was high and that convergent and divergent validity were adequate compared with the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Exp II assessed the effect of a 4-wk field placement on the attitudes of 48 undergraduate rehabilitation psychology majors. There was a significant positive change in Ss' attitudes toward psychiatric rehabilitation, and their scores after field placement were significantly more positive than norms obtained from general-caseload rehabilitation practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of information on attitudes toward and interpersonal acceptance of persons who are deaf.

225 undergraduates completed measures of authoritarianism and attitudes toward persons with disabilities before reading sketches that contained information about deaf target persons labeled as deaf or labeled and described as deaf. Measures of acceptance of the target person and attitudes toward persons who are deaf were then taken. Results indicate partial support for the prediction that information affects attitudes toward persons who are deaf but no support for the prediction that information also affects interpersonal acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude organization and the attitude–behavior relationship.

The validity of a single-component model of attitude was assessed and compared with a 2-component (affective/cognitive) conceptualization of attitude. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed in a reanalysis of data previously reported by N. Fishbein and I. Ajzen (see record 1974-24385-001). A total of 125 undergraduates from 2 samples completed 5 scales measuring attitudes toward religion. Convergent validity, in the sense of uniform consistency of responses, did not hold for the single-component model but was achieved for the 2-component model. Further, the 2-component model of attitude predicted scaled, but not unscaled, multiple-act behavior criteria, and the predictive validity of the relationship between the 2-component model and single-act behavior criteria was not supported. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring the working alliance in advisor–advisee relationships in graduate school.

Drawing from the working alliance literature, the authors constructed the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory (AWAI) to measure the graduate advising relationship from the student's perspective. Two hundred eighty-one counseling psychology doctoral students participated in the 1st study (79% response rate). Three factors (Rapport, Apprenticeship, and Identification-Individuation) were extracted by factor analysis. The AWAI showed very good internal consistency reliability. Scale validity was supported by positive correlations between the AWAI and measures of advisee research self-efficacy and attitudes toward research, as well as the perceived expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness of the advisor. Forty-one students participated in the 2nd study, in which the AWAI demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability over a 2-week interval. Implications of the advising working alliance are discussed for doctoral training and areas for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does individualism help explain differences in employers' stigmatizing attitudes toward disability across Chinese and American cities?

Purpose: Stigmatizing attitudes toward people with disabilities can jeopardize such individuals' well-being and recovery through denial of employment and community isolation. By shaping social norms that define group membership, the construct of individualism may partially explain differences in stigmatizing attitudes across cultures. Further, widespread globalization has brought intensely individualistic social practices to certain segments of non-Western cultures. This paper examines whether the construct of individualism can help to explain cross-cultural differences in stigmatizing attitudes observed between American and Chinese employers. Design: Employers (N = 879) from Beijing, Hong Kong, and Chicago provided information on their attitudes toward hiring people with disabilities, and path analyses were conducted to examine potential mediating relationships. Results: Path analyses indicated that vertical individualism, along with perceived responsibility for acquiring a condition, partially mediated the relationship between culture and employers' negative attitudes about job candidates with disabilities. Conclusion: These results suggested that greater espousal of competitive and individualist values may drive stigmatizing attitudes across cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and motivational variables as predictors of academic performance among disadvantaged college students.

Analyzed, via multiple regression, the validity of selected cognitive and affective variables as predictors of academic success among 106 disadvantaged minority college students. Positive zero-order correlations with the criterion variable (grade point index after 1 yr) were highest for reading, vocabulary, mathematics, intellectual achievement responsibility, and attitudes toward authority, with significant negative correlations for dogmatism, alienation, and internality-externality (selected items). Multiple regression analysis yielded an R of .62, accounting for approximately 40% of the variance in grades. The best combination of predictors was reading, attitude toward authority, internality-externality (selected items), and dogmatism, which together accounted for approximately 35% of the total variance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development, refinement, and psychometric properties of the Attitudes Toward God Scale (ATGS-9).

Perceived relationships with God can be a source of comfort or struggle. To advance the study of spiritual comfort and struggle, we develop the nine-item Attitudes toward God Scale (ATGS-9), and we describe six studies (2,992 total participants) reporting its development and psychometrics. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified two factors: (1) Positive Attitudes toward God and (2) Disappointment and Anger with God. Subscale scores showed good estimated internal consistency, 2-week temporal stability, and evidence for construct and discriminant validity. Positive Attitudes toward God correlated with measures of religiosity and conscientiousness. Disappointment and Anger with God correlated with negative religious coping, lower religious participation, more distress, higher neuroticism, and entitlement. These results support the ATGS-9 as a brief measure of attitudes toward God. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the automatic evaluation of end-states.

The author's research examined automatically activated attitudes toward desired end-states. Across 4 studies, participants' automatic attitudes toward goals (i.e., thinness, egalitarianism) significantly predicted their goal pursuit, including behaviors, intentions, and judgments. Such attitudes predicted behavior and judgments that are difficult to monitor and control (i.e., restrained eating, subtle prejudice), but not judgments that are easy to monitor and control (i.e., blatant prejudice). Automatic attitudes toward goals also possessed unique predictive validity compared with explicit measures of motivation and with automatic attitudes toward more physical, "graspable" objects. The findings are discussed with regard to the predictive validity of automatic attitudes, the use of automatic attitudes toward goals as an implicit measure of motivation, and the role of automatic evaluative processes in goal-pursuit and self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two new measures of attitudes about the acceptability of teen dating aggression.

Aggression in dating relationships is associated with attitudes that justify its use. Attitudes about dating aggression are targeted by prevention efforts, contributing to a need to measure these attitudes sensitively, accurately, and multidimensionally. We describe two new measures of attitudes about aggression, each tapping different attitudinal components, and compare their psychometric properties with an existing scale. The 1st assesses attitudes about physical aggression in provocative situations. The 2nd taps attitudes about verbally aggressive, controlling, and jealous tactics against a dating partner. Data from 2,313 high school students were factor analyzed and cross-validated for each new scale. Compared with an existing measure, the scales had comparable levels of reliability and validity and improved response distributions. A 2nd-order factor analysis lends support to a multidimensional view of attitudes about dating aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Americans With Disabilities Act Knowledge Survey: Strong psychometrics and weak knowledge.

Objectives: To construct and validate a measure that assesses knowledge of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and to examine ADA knowledge among private and public sector representatives. Study Design and Subjects: A 20-item measure was developed and administered to undergraduates (n = 210) and ADA experts (n = 34) to establish validity and reliability. Then, it was administered to 133 private and public sector representatives. Results: The ADA experts obtained a significantly higher mean than undergraduates. Reliability analysis resulted in a Cronbach's alpha of .82. Furthermore, private and public sector representatives demonstrated little ADA knowledge. Conclusions: A valid and reliable measure, the ADA Knowledge Survey may be administered to individuals who are responsible for the law's implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does Volunteering With Children Affect Attitudes Toward Adults With Disabilities? A Prospective Study of Unequal Contact.

Objectives: Determine effects of volunteering with children with disabilities on attitudes toward adults with disabilities; examine predictors of social distance. Setting: Pediatric educational-rehabilitation center. Method: Seventy-one adult volunteers completed measures before and after volunteering for 4 to 10 months with children with physical or hearing impairments. Main outcome variables: Questionnaire measures of social distance, self- and other-focused attitudes, thoughts, and affect toward adults with disabilities. Results: Volunteering decreased social distance and had the greatest impact on comfort and ease, regardless of the group with which participants volunteered. There was little change in thoughts and beliefs about people with disabilities. Social distance was best predicted by an other-focused variable: thoughts about the person with a disability. Conclusions: Working with children with disabilities diminished social distance and improved self-focused aspects of attitudes, thoughts, and feelings. This experience generally did not affect other-focused views, which are important for interaction with peers with disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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.     

Attitudes of management undergraduates toward persons with disabilities: A need for change.

Objective: To examine attitudes toward persons with disabilities of management undergraduates who will be the next generation of professionals and managers hiring and working with employees or clients with disabilities. Participants: A convenience sample of 231 volunteer management undergraduates (129 men and 102 women) ranging in age from 19 to 51 years (M?=?22.89, SD?=?4.43) from 7 human resource management and organizational behavior management classes in a small western Canadian university. Main Outcome Measures: L. Gething's (1991) Interaction With Disabled Persons Scale (IDP) along with openended questions and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (D. P. Crowne & D. Marlowe, 1960). Results: This Canadian sample expressed a complex set of positive and negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Conclusions: There is a need to sensitize management undergraduates to issues regarding employment of people with disabilities. Recommendations are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)