Attitudes of Pakistani Community Members and Staff toward People with Intellectual Disability

• Published in: American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities Vol. 118; no. 1; pp. 32 - 43
• Main Authors: Patka, Mazna, Keys, Christopher B, Henry, David B, McDonald, Katherine E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 01-01-2013
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitudes toward Disabilities; Child; Community; Community Mental Health Services; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Data Collection; Employees; Factor Analysis; Female; Foreign Countries; Humans; Intellectual Disability - ethnology; Intellectual Disability - psychology; Male; Mental Retardation; Orphanages; Pakistan; Positive Attitudes; Public Opinion; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Pakistan
• ISSN: 1944-7515
• DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-118.1.32

The acceptance and inclusion of persons with intellectual disability can vary across cultures, and understanding attitudes can provide insight into such variation. To our knowledge, no previous study has explored attitudes toward people with intellectual disability among Pakistani community members and disability service providers. We administered the Community Living Attitudes Scale (Henry et al., 1996), a measure of attitudes toward people with intellectual disability developed in the United States, to 262 community members and 190 disability service providers in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis found a 4-factor solution (empowerment, similarity, exclusion, and sheltering) fit the Pakistani sample. More positive attitudes were observed in staff serving people with intellectual disability, females, Christians, Hindus, Sunnis, and people with greater education. We discuss implications for research, theory, and practice.