College Students' Attitudes Toward and Knowledge of Disabilities: Does Religiosity Matter?

Kristi Kluegel and Olivia Tomfohrde, Faculty Advisor: Mary Beth Leibham, Ph.D.University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, Department of Psychology

Background

Individuals’ attitudes often influence their behavior and have been studied extensively. One specific area of research on attitudes that has been examined is individuals’ attitudes toward disabilities. To date, research on attitudes toward disabilities has focused primarily on children’s and adults’ attitudes, with little attention given to the college student population. It would be valuable, however, to examine college students’ attitudes since there is an increasing number of students with disabilities obtaining college degrees. College students will also be the next generation to enter the workforce, so they will be the ones to employ and work alongside people with disabilities.

In the existing research on individuals’ attitudes toward disabilities, females have displayed more positive attitudes toward disabilities than males (Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007). Those who have more exposure to and experience with individuals who have disabilities also have displayed more positive attitudes toward disabilities than individuals with less exposure and experience (Ouellette-Kuntz et al., 2010). Finally, a more accurate understanding (i.e., knowledge) of disabilities has also been correlated with positive attitude towards disabilities (Bossaert et al., 2011).

One factor that could potentially be related to one’s attitudes toward disabilities is religiosity, but there is little research that has explored this link. The research that has been conducted indicates that religious individuals have less positive attitudes toward disabilities than secular individuals (Weisel & Zaidman, 2003).

Method

ParticipantsTwo hundred sixty-seven college students (231 females, 36 males) participated in this study. All students were enrolled at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and may have received extra credit for participation.

Class Level: 80 students were classified as freshmen, 65 were classified as sophomores, 54 were classified as juniors, and 68 were classified as seniors.

Majors: The most common reported major was psychology (n = 78), followed by communication sciences and disorders (n = 48), and nursing (n = 27). The remaining participants represented a variety of other majors (e.g., education, social work, biology).

MaterialsParticipants’ attitudes toward disabilities were measured using a modified version of an attitude questionnaire designed by Goreczny, Bender, Caruso, & Feinstein (2011). There were a total of 27 items. All items were rated on a 5-point Likert-scale with ‘1’ referring to “strongly disagree” and ‘5’ referring to “strongly agree.” Religiosity was measured using the Religiosity Measure created by Rohrbaugh & Jessor (1975). This 8-item measure assessed factors such as ritual practices and theological beliefs. Participants’ knowledge of disabilities was measured using 23 True Or False statements that were developed for the purposes of this study.

ProcedureParticipants were recruited through email. The survey that measured the attitudes, religiosity, and conceptions of disabilities, in addition to demographic questions, was completed via an online survey program (Qualtrics).

College Students’ Overall Knowledge of Disabilities• Attitudes: Overall, college students’ attitudes toward

disabilities were positive. College students’ religiosity did not relate to their attitudes toward disabilities. Having more accurate knowledge of disabilities, having more frequent interaction with individuals with disabilities, having more disability-related courses, and being older were all positively related to attitudes toward disabilities.

• Knowledge: Overall, college students had accurate knowledge of disabilities. College students’ religiosity did not relate to their knowledge of disabilities. Having more frequent interaction with individuals with disabilities, having more disability-related courses, and being older were all positively related to knowledge of disabilities.

• Even though college students appear to have an accurate understanding of disabilities, when knowledge of specific disabilities was examined, there were apparent misconceptions. For example:• Half of the participants believed that the cause of an

IDD can be identified.• 30% of the participants believed that children with an

IDD look different than children without an IDD.• 40% of students surveyed believed that inside every

child with autism is a genius.

Conclusions

College Students’ Attitudes Toward Disabilities

Relationships Among Religiosity, Attitudes, and Knowledge of Disabilities

*p < .05; ** p < .001

ReligiosityFrequency

of Interaction

# Disability-related courses Age GPA Knowledge

Attitude .07 .27** .28** .13* -.03 .46**

Knowledge .04 .24** .26** .23** .07 --

References

• Bossaert, G., Coplin, H., Pijl, S.J., & Petry, K. (2011). The attitudes of Belgian adolescents towards peers with disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32, 504-509.

• Goreczny, A., Bender, E., Carusa, G., & Feinstein, C. (2011). Attitudes toward individuals with disabilities: Results of a recent survey and implications of those results. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32, 1596-1609.

• Hergenrather, K., & Rhodes, S. (2007). Exploring undergraduate student attitudes toward persons with disabilities: Application of the disability social

relationship scale. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 50(2), 66-75.• Ouellette-Kuntz, H., Burge, P., Brown, H.K., & Arsenault, E. (2010). Public

attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities as measured by the concept of social distance. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23, 132-142.

• Rohrbaugh, J., & Jessor, R. (1975). Religiosity in youth: A personal control against deviant behavior. Journal of Personality, 43, 136-155.

• Weisel, A., & Zaidman, A. (2003). Attitudes of secular and religious Israeli adolescents towards persons with disabilities: a multidimensional analysis. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 50(3), 309-323.

The authors wish to thank the UWEC Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP).

College Students’ Knowledge of Specific Disabilities

LD IDDAutism

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OverallMale

Female

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Junior/SeniorPSYC CSD

NURS0

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*p < .05** p < .001

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