Ethnic and Gender Influences on the Social Acceptance of Persons with Disabilities by African American and White College Students

Abstract

A small number of studies have yielded inconclusive results when examining the assertion that ethnic minorities have greater acceptance of persons with disabilities because of shared minority group status. The purpose of this study was to explore the hypothesis that African Americans, in comparison to Whites, hold more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities in social situations. Also, differences according to the gender of the college student participants were explored. Implications for rehabilitation counseling are provided.

The perceptions of college students regarding microaggressions toward people with disabilities

“…Specifically, studies disclosed that compared to males, females generally hold more positive attitudes toward PWD (Chen et al, 2002;Choi, 2006;Donnell et al, 1999;Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007;MacLean & Gannon, 1995;Satchidanand et al, 2012).…”

“…Both of these variables have been widely investigated by researchers (Au & Man, 2006;Chan et al, 2002;Choi, 2006;Chen et al, 2002;Donnell et al, 1999;Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007;MacLean & Gannon, 1995;Satchidanand et al, 2012) in studies that explore people's attitudes toward PWD. In terms of the effects of these two variables, the following conclusions were generally consistent: (a) females exhibited more positive attitudes (implicit and explicit) toward PWD than males; and (b) having a close contact experience (e.g., having a friend or a family member with disabilities) with PWD help improve these attitudes.…”

“…Accordingly, scholars and researchers have also tried for decades to figure out factors that could impact and/or change such aversive attitudes. Among these, two factors -gender and close contact experience with PWD -have received scholars' extensive investigations (Chan, Lee, Yuen, & Chan, 2002;Chen, Brodwin, Cardosa, & Chan, 2002;Choi, 2006;Donnell, Alston, Hampton, & Bell, 1999;Eberhardt & Mayberry, 2003;Grames & Leverentz, 2010;Hernandez et al, 2000;Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007;MacLean & Gannon, 1995;Stachura, 2007;Taylor & Bogdan, 1989;Westbrook et al, 1993). The measured effects of these two factors on attitudes (implicit and explicit) toward PWD are comparatively reliable.…”

“…The influence of gender on attitudes toward PWD has been examined and the results are consistent. During the past decades, researchers have paid a particular attention to the gender difference regarding explicit attitudes toward PWD (Choi, 2006;Chen et al, 2002;Donnell et al, 1999;Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007;MacLean & Gannon, 1995;Satchidanand et al, 2012). Their result indicated that females view PWD more positively than males.…”

“…Their connection was elaborated above: the concern of how participants' perceptions of their agreement and disagreement with certain statements helped the researcher understand their attitudes (implicit and explicit). Moreover, attitudinal studies in the literature (Chen, Brodwin, Cardosa, & Chan, 2002;Choi, 2006;Donnell, Alston, Hampton, & Bell, 1999;Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2007;Hernandez, Keys, & Balcazar, 2000;Lyons, 1990;MacLean & Gannon, 1995;Satchidanand et al, 2012;Taylor & Bogdan, 1989) have disclosed a comparatively strong conclusion that females and people with close contact experience with PWD tend to have more positive implicit and explicit attitudes toward PWD than their counterparts. Using variables of gender and close contact experience with PWD, the current comparison of participants' perceptions regarding microaggressions toward PWD aimed to explore whether these two variables can also impact such perceptions.…”