Ethnic and religious perspectives on disability and the helping professions

Abstract

This note looks at ethnic and religious perspectives of people who are training for and/or working in the helping professions in regard to their views of disability. The Modified Issues in Disabilities Scale (MIDS) was administered to a sample of people training for and/or working in the helping professions. A statistically significant association was found between ethnic and religious perspectives and scores on the MIDS.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the following agencies for financial support through projects at the University of Hawaii at Manoa: the U.S. Department of Education which funded the Project for Minority Assistance and Pacific Partnerships (MAPP) and funded the Pacific Partnerships in Disability and Diversity Studies, grant number H325E980037-98; the HRSA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, MCH-B, MCJ #159342, which funded the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities; the Center on Disability Studies of the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and the University of California at Chico. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not the funding agencies.

The MIDS was used in our work with permission from Dr. Elaine Makas who is a member of the faculty of the Lewiston Auburn College of the University of Southern Maine. For more information about the MIDS she can be contacted at 10 Sheffield Ave, Lewiston, ME 04240.

The institutional review board of the University of Hawaii at Manoa determined that this study was exempt from review.

Notes

1 Nancy B. Robinson's primary appointment is at San Francisco State University.