Determinants of students' attitudes towards peers with disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
To explore factors associated with students' attitudes towards their peers with disabilities.


METHODS
All 7th grade students (aged 12-13y) from 12 schools in the Toulouse area were invited to participate (n=1509). Attitudes were measured using the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps (CATCH) questionnaire (affective, behavioural, cognitive, and total scores). Personal characteristics, including KIDSCREEN quality of life scores, were recorded. Data regarding information about disabilities received from parents and the media and acquaintance with people with disabilities constituted the 'disability knowledge' factors. The characteristics of the schools were obtained from the local education authority. Multivariate multilevel linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the associations between CATCH scores and these three groups of factors.


RESULTS
Responses from 1135 students (612 females, 523 males; mean age 12y 8mo SD 7mo; age range 10y 8mo-15y) were studied (75.2% of the students approached). Factors independently associated with more positive attitudes were being a female, having a good quality of life, being friends with a child with disabilities, or having received information about disabilities from parents and the media. Presence in the school of a special class for children with cognitive disabilities was independently associated with more negative attitudes.


CONCLUSIONS
This cross-sectional study identified different personal and environmental factors upon which interventions aimed at improving students' attitudes towards their peers with disabilities could be based.
INSERM, Unité 558, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 31073, France.
Celine
C
Vignes
Emmanuelle
E
Godeau
Mariane
M
Sentenac
Nicola
N
Coley
Felix
F
Navarro
Helene
H
Grandjean
Catherine
C
Arnaud
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010379:Peer Group; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult