High School Students' Contact with and Attitudes towards Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Kuwait

Abstract

This study aims to investigate demographic variables, contact-related correlates, and attitudes towards persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) among Kuwaiti high school students (N = 700). The study focuses on variables that few studies have investigated and attempts to raise awareness among social workers to advocate for the inclusion of people with IDD and reform social policy that would improve the inclusion in society. The adapted Mental Retardation Attitude Inventory—Revised (MRAI-R) was used. A set of demographic variables and known predictors of attitudes to people with IDD were tested in multivariate analyses. Except for age, differences in global attitudes were found to be a function of gender, knowing persons with IDD, intimacy, frequency of contact, intensity of contact, and knowledge of IDD. Higher levels of Contact-Intensity and higher age were associated with more positive attitudes on the Integration–Segregation, Social Distance, Private Rights, and Subtle Derogatory Beliefs subscales. These findings support the development of legislation aimed at promoting successful inclusion that contributes to positive attitudes of students towards a person with IDD.

本文针对科威特高中学生（人数=700）中的人口变量、交往相关性、对智力及发育残障者的态度等等进行了调查。本研究聚焦以往研究很少涉及的变量，呼吁社会工作者自觉地促进社会对智力及发育残障者的接纳，并改革社会政策以改善社会的接纳。作者采用了修改本的《精神障碍态度条例》。作者使用多因子分析法对一组人口学变量以及针对智力及发育残障者态度的指标做了测试。作者发现，除了年龄，全球态度的差异包括性别的功能、认识智力及发育残障人士个人、亲密度、交往频次、交往强度、对智力及发育残障的了解，等等。交往强度越高、年龄越大的人在整合—隔离、社会距离、私人权利、含蓄性不敬的测量方面表现更为正面。这些发现声援了促进社会接纳的立法行动，这有助于培育学生对智力及发育残障者的正面态度。

Keywords:

• Disability
• Social Work
• Human Services
• Social Care
• Disability Attitudes
• Contact Theory

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Research Department-Kuwait University project No. OS01/08.