Staff attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities in Japan and the United States.

BACKGROUND: Staff attitudes may affect choices available to persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). This study examined attitudes towards people with ID among staff working with people with ID in Japan and the United States. METHOD: Attitudes of staff working with people with ID in Japan and the United States were compared using the Community Living Attitudes Scale, Intellectual Disabilities Form. Responses were examined via multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS: In unadjusted analyses, Japanese staff exhibited a greater tendency towards Sheltering and Exclusion of people with ID and lower endorsement of Empowerment and Similarity of people with ID. After controlling for covariates, the country effect was no longer significant for Sheltering and Exclusion. Age and education were significantly associated with attitudes in the adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: While attitudes in Japan appeared less supportive of community inclusion of people with ID, some of the differences between countries were attributable to other staff characteristics such as age and education. Findings provide new information about how attitudes of staff in each country compare with each other.

Attitudes of Japanese students toward people with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to gain insight into the structure and organization of the attitudes of Japanese students toward people with intellectual disability (ID). The study also examined how these attitudes are related to individual characteristics, such as experience with people with ID, major field of study and career interests. METHODS: The participants completed a series of measures developed in the USA: three measures of attitudes toward people with ID, a demographic questionnaire and a social desirability scale. Students completed the measures anonymously. RESULTS: The factor structures of all three attitude scales replicated the structures found in the USA. Attitudes toward the community inclusion of people with ID were negatively correlated with an endorsement of eugenics. Students in social work and psychology had more positive attitudes than other students. Participants who expressed an interest in a career working with people with ID had more positive attitudes than students with no interest in such a career. CONCLUSIONS: Attitude measures developed in the USA can be used in Japan, and can provide useful information as well as an opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons. For a more complete understanding of the attitudes of Japanese people toward people with ID, these attitudes should also be studied using measures based in Japanese culture which have specifically developed to measure attitudes in Japan.