Factors Affecting College Students' Attitudes Toward the Disabled

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze college students' attitudestoward people with disabilities, and factors affecting the attitudes, and further to examine possible ways to improve the attitudes, and to furnish guideline of curriculum and practice in rehabilitation nursing on the basis of this analysis. Method: A descriptive, relational study design was used. The subjects of this study were 448 college students. A convenient sampling is used. Data were collected through 4 types of previous questionnaires used to examine attitudefrom May 1 to May 30, 2003. Result: 1. The attitudetoward people with disabilities whose mean is 3.762 was responded somewhat negatively. Especially, a contact tension whose mean was 4.00 is high. 2. As a result of analyzing the attitudesof college students toward people with disabilities, some factors were statistically significant. They were experience of contact with the disabled, concern toward the disabled, voluntary work related to the disabled, and disability experience education. 3. The more negative experience of people with disabilities and the lower stereotype of disability and the higher effects of parents, teachers, and mass media, then the more positive response of peoples attitudewith disabilities. 4. The main factors of determining the attitudeof people with disabilities were the stereotype of disability, contact experience, concern about disability, voluntary work experience. Conclusion : These results suggested that an appropriate educational intervention and strategy is needed in order to change the attitudesof college students toward people with disabilities. Also experimental researches are needed to do it.