Actual and perceived attitudes of wheelchair users

The sub-section of the disabled population who use a wheelchair has largely been neglected in the research Concerned with attitudes towards people with a disability. This study had two aims: firstly, to compare the attitudes towards wheelchair users of able-bodied people with people who actually use a wheelchair, and secondly, to examine the difference between how each group perceives the attitudes of the other towards this condition. The results revealed a number of interesting differences between the expressed attitudes of the two groups, although their overall mean scores were comparable. The wheelchair user group were found to believe non-disabled people to hold more negative attitudes than they actually expressed. A few age and sex differences were found, as well as a number of differences depending on whether the respondents had congenital or acquired disabilities. Finally, the amount of contact with those using wheelchairs was found to be associated with slightly more realistic attitudes among the non-disabled respondents. The results are discussed in the light of previous research, and possible reasons for, and ways to counter, the lack of empathy between the two groups are considered.     

Surviving in the regular classroom: A follow-up of mainstreamed children with learning disabilities

Twenty elementary-age children diagnosed as learning disabled were assessed for academic progress prior to their enrollment in a special learning disability program, at the end of that special L.D. enrollment and 1 year later, after mainstreaming into a regular classroom. Results indicated that learning gains in reading and mathematics during the mainstreamed year were comparable to learning gains found during the year of enrollment in the special L.D. program. However, a significant decrease in gains in the area of spelling was found for the mainstreamed year as compared to the prior year's enrollment in the special L.D. program. It was concluded that regular classroom instruction alone may be insufficient for mainstreamed children with learning disabilities and that supplemental programming seems necessary if prior rates of academic learning are to be maintained.     

Changing negative attitudes towards persons with physical disabilities: an experimental intervention

An experimental study was designed and tested to change negative attitudes towards the physically disabled. A pre‐post‐test intervention was conducted including three conditions: (a) cognitive intervention; (b) cognitive and behavioural intervention involving equal‐status contact with the target group; (c) no‐intervention control. The sample consisted of 70 ninth grade students. Following baseline assessments of attitudes, attitude change was measured immediately following the intervention and at a follow‐up three months post‐intervention. The cognitive intervention provided information about physical disability and challenged stereotypic conceptions about the physically disabled. The behavioural intervention consisted of engaging in three paralympic disciplines under the instruction of a group of disabled athletes. The cognitive intervention alone did not result in significant changes in attitudes towards the physically disabled. However, the combined cognitive‐behavioural intervention resulted in greater attitude change than the no‐intervention condition, both immediately post‐intervention and at a three months follow‐up. The findings are discussed with regard to models of attitude change through equal‐status contact. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduction in disability in a randomized controlled trial of telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the efficacy of telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (T-CBT) and telephone-administered supportive emotion-focused therapy (T-SEFT) in reducing disability among disabled patients with multiple sclerosis and depression. Telephone administration of therapy allowed care to be delivered to a more disabled population. This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial; the primary outcome results for depression are reported in D. C. Mohr, S. L. Hart, L. Julian, C. Catledge, L. Honos-Webb, L. Vella, et al. (2005). DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial, comparing 16 weeks of T-CBT with T-SEFT. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disability was measured using Guy's Neurological Disability Scale; fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Impact Scale; depression was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. RESULTS: Patients in both treatments showed significant improvements in disability and fatigue. These improvements were related to reductions in depression. T-CBT produced significantly greater decreases in disability and fatigue, compared with T-SEFT, even after controlling for depression. The greater benefit of T-CBT on disability was mediated by physical fatigue. CONCLUSION: These findings support the hypothesis that significant reductions in disability can be achieved by reducing depression in patients with multiple sclerosis. There was also evidence that further reductions could be achieved through CBT-specific interventions that include a focus on symptoms such as fatigue management.     

Attitudes of Disabled Individuals Enrolled in a Workstation Center and a Community College Program

This study measured the attitudes of disabled individuals toward the staff who gave them rehabilitation services. The attitudes of two groups of clients at a rehabilitation hospital were evaluated: (a) clients from a vocational rehabilitation workshop and (b) clients from a community college satellite program. Testing was performed at three-week intervals. It was found that clients in the community college program perceived their staff as having more concern than the workshop group. No relationship was found between attitudes and the length of time in the respective program. Clients who entered programs appeared to have attitudes that did not change to any great extent while they were in the rehabilitation programs.     

Correlates of Genetic Counseling and Testing Among Orthodox Jews

One hundred and thirty-six Orthodox Jews responded to questions about their family background, disability attitudes, and their participation in genetic counseling and testing. Findings showed that only birth order and the presence of a disabled family member correlated with increased chances of an individual going for genetic counseling/testing. Results are discussed in the context of the contemporary sociology of Orthodox Judaism, with a particular focus on better understanding the experience of having a disabled family member.     

Attitudes of American and Turkish College Students Toward Disabled Persons

3 scales measuring different aspects of attitudes toward disabled persons were translated into Turkish and administered to 212 college students at Gazi Institute, Ankara. These data were compared with findings from a sample of 269 New York college students previously reported by Siller and Chipman. Results confirmed the prediction of greater nonacceptance of disabled persons in the Turkish sample. Means from the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons scale and the Social Distance Scale differentiated the samples beyond the .001 level. However, the Feeling Check List data showed a reversal, with the Turkish sample rating significantly more positive feelings toward 6 of 7 disability categories. The latter finding is discussed together with results from the Social Distance Scale as possible consequences of different “public personality” systems.     

Representing disability in charity promotions

Social psychological research in relation to charity advertising in the area of disability has attempted to distinguish between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ images and the way in which these are related to their fundraising potential. In the light of the critique of charity advertising offered by a number of disability theorists, it is suggested that this perspective would be enhanced by consideration of the attitudes of disabled people to charity advertisements. A study is reported that compares the attitudes of disabled and non‐disabled people to two charity advertisements. Differences between these two groups are reported and in the light of the nature of these it is suggested that what are considered to constitute ‘positive images’ is unlikely to be consensual. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disablism,Identity and Self: Discrimination as a Traumatic Assault on Subjectivity

The international disability movement has favoured a political strategy which relies on historical materialism, eschewing subjective aspects of disability. From this perspective, rehabilitationist and psychological constructions of the subjectivities of disabled people are rejected as victim‐blaming pathologisation. Recently, feminist work has begun to explore psychological aspects of the lives of disabled people, within various paradigms. Drawing loosely on ideas from psychoanalysis, this paper explores the impressions left on subjectivity by symbolic assaults often associated with the disabled identity, thus connecting intra‐psychic and socio‐political arenas. The conceptual ideas employed emerged from psychoanalytically oriented group psychotherapy with severely physically impaired adults performed by the first author. The authors argue that the ongoing nature of socially engendered trauma suffered by disabled persons perpetuates marginality, through internalization of self‐punitive psychological defences, which corrode the entitlement necessary for an assertive political movement. Surviving in a world which continually questions one's belonging, leaves little personal resources for debunking oppressive social phenomena. Material as well as discursive changes are essential if internal narratives are to be reclaimed, overcoming the subjective imprints of ongoing social trauma. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children’s Acceptance of Others with Disability: The Influence of a Disability-Simulation Program

Elementary school is a transitional and impressionable period for any child. In inclusive classroom settings, children with disabilities may experience the challenges of acceptance and integration into peer relationships. The experience of children with disabilities in such classrooms can be positive if their classmates are accepting and open. One way to encourage these attitudes is by increasing awareness through disability-simulation. This study evaluates an existing school program, whose goal is to increase acceptance of others with disability. We surveyed students to assess the influence of the program. An adapted acceptance scale was distributed to students before and after participation in the program. Our hypothesis was that student acceptance would increase after participating in the program. Additionally, we hypothesized that physical, visual, and auditory disabilities would be easier for students to understand, making acceptance scores for these disabilities higher than those for a learning disability. We report changes in acceptance using group means. Our results reveal that post-survey responses showed higher acceptance than pre-survey responses, especially for auditory disabilities. Other significant findings include differences in attitudes between the two schools and differences based on prior experience with someone with a disability. By evaluating the effectiveness of this type of program (whose efficacy has been controversial in the literature), this study can provide teachers, administrators, genetic counselors, and parents with a better idea of how to address children’s attitudes towards peers. In our study, the effectiveness of promoting understanding through disability-simulation has proven its worth to improve children’s acceptance.     

Testing the Effectiveness of Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression—Revised: Changes in Depression,Anxiety, Dysfunctional Attitudes,and Mindfulness

We tested the effectiveness of Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression-Revised (BATD-R), and its impact on secondary outcomes: anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes, and mindfulness. It was expected that individuals who completed BATD-R would exhibit decreased depression, anxiety, and dysfunctional attitudes, as well as increased mindfulness. A sample of adults with depression (n?=?42) was recruited to complete the 10-week treatment. A healthy control group (n?=?38) was included for comparison. Outcomes (depression, anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes, and mindfulness) were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment or 10 weeks for the healthy control group, and three-month follow-up. At pre-treatment, the clinical group reported greater depression, anxiety, and dysfunctional attitudes, and less mindfulness than the healthy control group. At post-treatment, the clinical group reported decreased depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and dysfunctional attitudes, and increased mindfulness, compared to pre-treatment. The control group did not exhibit changes across the 10 weeks. Clinical and healthy control group post-treatment scores did not differ. At three-month follow-up, the clinical group reported a slight increase in depressive symptoms from post-treatment, but still maintained lower depressive symptoms than pre-treatment. The clinical group maintained treatment gains in dysfunctional attitudes, and mindfulness. Results support the effectiveness of BATD-R and suggest BATD-R may influence dysfunctional attitudes and mindfulness.

     

Maintained attitudinal changes in nursing personnel after a brief training on suicide prevention

Nursing personnel (N = 317) working at a general hospital attended a 6-hour training program on suicide prevention. They answered anonymously pre- and post-training the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ), which comprises 21 visual analogue scale items divided in three factorial subscales. The results indicated there were positive changes in the attitudes and these gains were significantly maintained at the 6-month follow-up evaluation. Improvement was in the Feelings and Professional Capacity subscales (ANOVA; p = 0.0001 and 0.01, respectively). There was no change on the Right to Suicide subscale. Because attitudes influence the effectiveness of health care personnel interventions, our findings may have important implications for the development of suicide prevention programs.     

Attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis among a group of individuals with physical disabilities

Few studies have been published on the attitudes of people with physical disabilities toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Articles in the lay press and social science literature on this topic, mainly written by disability rights activists and advocates, imply opposition to prenatal diagnosis and the field of clinical genetics by the physically disabled population. In this study, 15 adults with physical disabilities were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis were generally viewed favorably by this sample of the disability community. Only a small percentage of the sample perceived genetics to be eugenic. Implications for genetic counseling and future research are discussed.     

Enhancing children's attitudes toward disabled peers using a multi-media intervention

Interventions are being developed to enhance children's attitudes toward disabled peers and thereby facilitate mainstreaming in schools. This study evaluates the impact of Feeling Free, a multi-media program of disability-related films, activities, discussions, and books. Participants were children from 16 classrooms, grades 3 through 6. Two classes at each grade level (N = 8) were randomly assigned to the six-session program and were compared on five outcome measures to the eight remaining classrooms. Treatment children demonstrated increased knowledge about disabilities, more positive perceptions of disabled persons, and greater awareness of appropriate behavioral responses to disabled peers. There were no long-lasting treatment effects on two measures of children's acknowledged willingness to interact with disabled peers, although treatment girls demonstrated short-term gains on one measure. Suggestions are made for increasing program impact and providing services to other participants in the mainstreaming process.     

Effects of disability and bereavement on the mental health and recovery of older adults

We investigated the role of two major stressors, recent disability and conjugal bereavement, in older adults' self-reports of mental health and recovery from stress. A sample of 246 older adults between the ages of 60-80 was interviewed monthly for 3 months by trained elderly interviewers; Month-10 interview data were also analyzed. Control subjects, who were not experiencing the stressors, were carefully selected from a sample of adults matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Dependent variables were psychological distress and psychological well-being, each with component subscales. The disabled group evidenced significantly lower positive well-being and significantly greater distress than did the other groups. Bereaved subjects demonstrated high levels of depression compared with the disabled subjects, but showed less anxiety. Bereaved subjects showed recovery on several indicators of mental health, but disabled subjects continued to show considerable psychological upset in comparison with the other groups.     

Cognitive-behavior therapy for discontinuation of SSRI treatment of panic disorder: a case series

In this report we describe the outcome of eight outpatients with panic disorder and agoraphobia who discontinued their treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in the context of a structured, group program of cognitive-behavior therapy. All patients successfully discontinued their SSRI medication while demonstrating clinical improvement. These results were maintained at 3-month follow-up. This case series suggests that manualized CBT for discontinuation of benzodiazepine treatment for panic disorder may be successfully applied to SSRI discontinuation as well.     

Antidiscrimination Laws and Social Research on Disability: The Minority Group Perspective

In recent years, assessments of the difficulties confronting disabled persons have been altered both by the passage of antidiscrimination laws and by an emerging minority group model, based on a sociopolitical definition of disability, that has challenged studies shaped by the functional limitations paradigm. Unlike the latter orientation, the sociopolitical definition indicates that stigmatizing attitudes are the primary source of discrimination against disabled individuals. Both legal scholars and behavioral scientists also have neglected attitudinal research that seems at least comparable to the evidence cited by the Supreme Court to support the Brown decision. Further investigations based on the postulates of the minority group model and the concept of aesthetic anxiety may provide a means of combatting the effects of unconscious aversion toward disabled people in the courts.     

The effects of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program on preschool children with co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties

Two variants of a behavioral family intervention (BFI) program known as Triple P were compared using 87 preschoolers with co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties. Families were randomly allocated to enhanced BFI (EBFI), standard BFI (SBFI), or a waitlist (WL) control group. At postintervention both BFI programs were associated with significantly lower levels of parent-reported child behavior problems, lower levels of dysfunctional parenting, and greater parental competence than the WL condition. The EBFI condition was also associated with significantly less observed child negative behavior in comparison to the WL. The gains achieved at postintervention were maintained at 1-year follow-up. Contrary to predictions, the enhanced program was not shown to be superior to the standard program using any of the outcome measures at either postintervention or follow-up. Each of the programs produced significant reductions in children's co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties with 80% of the children showing clinically reliable improvement in observed negative behavior from preintervention to follow-up.     

Preventing prejudice and improving intergroup attitudes: A meta-analysis of child and adolescent training programs

This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of 81 research reports containing 122 intervention–control comparisons of structured programs to reduce prejudice or promote positive intergroup attitudes in children and adolescents. Overall, the analysis revealed a mean effect size of d = 0.30, indicating low to moderate intervention effects. From the great variety of different approaches, interventions based on direct contact experiences along with social-cognitive training programs designed to promote empathy and perspective taking showed the strongest effect sizes. In addition, effects varied according to the program participant's social status (higher effects for majority groups), the target out-group (lower effect sizes for ethnic vs. disabled and aged out-groups), and the type of outcome assessment (higher effects for cognitive vs. affective and behavioral measures of intergroup attitudes). The discussion considers several limitations including the lack of implementation and follow-up research as well as future direction of research on promoting intergroup relations.