A scale of attitudes toward the application of eugenics to the treatment of people with mental retardation.
As part of a larger study of the attitudes of diverse samples towards the application of eugenics to the treatment of people with mental retardation, a 32-item summated rating scale was developed as a contemporary, brief, easy to administer and score, and psychometrically sound instrument. Data were collected and analysed that indicated satisfactory item characteristics and reliability, and initial support for the content and construct validities of the scale. Analyses of social desirability data revealed that scale scores were not influenced by the subjects' desire to adhere to socially desirable expectations. The scale should be useful for the investigation of questions concerning the formation, structure and correlates of attitudes toward the application of eugenics to the treatment of people with mental retardation, and the relationship of these attitudes to contemporary mental retardation policies and practices.
Antonak
R F
RF
Department of Teaching Specialties, University of North Carolina, Charlotte 28223.
Fielder
C R
CR
Mulick
J A
JA
D000328:Adult; D005053:Eugenics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D012928:Social Desirability; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires