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Knowledge and Attitudes: Aspects of Occupational Therapy Students' Perceptions of the Handicapped
Author(s) -
WESTBROOK MARY T.,
ADAMSON BARBARA J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.1989.tb01209.x
Subject(s) - psychology , occupational therapy , perception , scale (ratio) , cognition , clinical psychology , association (psychology) , medical education , developmental psychology , medicine , psychotherapist , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
Scales measuring attitudes towards the handicapped fail to evaluate accuracy of knowledge. Occupational therapy students' (N = 233) knowledge of the handicapped was tested by 18 factual questions. Students also completed the Attitudes Toward Disabled People (ATDP) Scale (Yuker, Block and Younng, 1970). Students revealed negatively biased perceptions of the problems and skills of the handicapped, overestimated community assistance received, and were largely unaware of sex differences in handicaps. Senior students had more positive attitudes on the ATDP, and were somewhat better informed than first year students. There was no association between knowledge and ATDP scores. The need to address cognitive as well as affective and behavioural aspects of negative attitudes is discussed.