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Abstract
Primary objective: To investigate the public's attitudes towards survivors of brain injury in Northern Ireland.
Research design: Four hypothetical vignettes were constructed to test how the acquisition of a brain injury impacted on people's attitudes. The stories of protagonists that they either acquired their injury through organic (e.g. haemorrhage) means or in some self-initiated (e.g. brawl) behaviour. The gender of the protagonists was varied to examine differences in attitudes to males and females.
Methods and procedures: Adapted versions of the Prejudicial Evaluation Scale (PES) and Social Interaction Scale (SIS) were administered to 96 university students.
Main outcomes and results: The data was analysed using three 2 × 2 between subjects ANOVAs and showed that there was no significant main effect of gender, a highly significant effect of injury on negative attitudes (F(1, 92) = 68.30, p < 0.001], amount of desired social interaction [F(1, 92) = 46.27, p < 0.001] and willingness to help [F(1, 92) = 44.66, p < 0.001].
Conclusion: The perception that an individual's behaviour contributed to their injury may lead to stigmatization and its negative consequences.