Date of Award

1983

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes toward the disabled in foreign students at Louisiana State University. Four hundred sixty-six students were administered the Attitude Toward Disabled People scale, Form A, and a demographic questionnaire, during the Fall semester of 1982. These students were grouped in five predetermined areas of the world, as follows: Latin America; Africa; the Middle East, except Israel; Europe, Canada, and Israel; and South and East Asia. Analysis of variance and t-test were used to investigate differences of attitude among the subgroups of the sample. The following conclusions were drawn, applicable to the group of foreign students researched in this investigation. Significant overall differences were found between Latin America and Asia, Africa and Asia, and the Middle East and Asia, with Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East having a more favorable attitude toward the disabled. Asian females scored significantly higher than Asian males. Similarly, Africans with previous contact with the disabled scored significantly higher than Africans without previous contact. Regarding differences by sex among the geographical areas, a more positive attitude was found in the Latin America and the Middle East males in relation to the Asian males. In regards to age differences among geographical areas, Latin American students of less than 18 years of age had a more appropriate attitude than Asians of the same age group. In the "21-23" age group, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe scored significantly higher than Asia. In the "27-29" as well as in the "30-32" age groups, Latin America scored higher than Asia. The results of this study suggest that differences in attitude toward the disabled exist among foreign students and that these differences can be associated with differences in national origin, sex, age, and having or not having had previous contact with disabled individuals.

Pages

71

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.3866

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