A comparison of the attitudes of students and non-students toward the disabled in Ghana

A comparison of attitudes toward the disabled in Ghana was made between 146 college students (majoring in general education, special education administration and medicine) and 128 non-students. The study focuses on an analysis of responses to a select number of attitude statements which revealed the following: Students responded more favorably than non-students to statements emphasizing the value of educating the disabled. Students were less likely to blame the disabled or his/her family for the presence of a disability. On the other hand, both students and non-students were least favorable to social interaction with the disabled. A major finding of the study was that all scores fell within or above the moderately positive range. However, analysis of data revealed an inconsistency between the cognitive and affective attitude components. These findings suggest the influence of traditional beliefs on attitudes toward the disabled.     

Effects of cognitive modeling,affect, and contact on attitudes,thoughts, and feelings toward college students with physical disabilities

One goal of the present study was to evaluate cognitive and affective factors which facilitate problem-free interaction between nondisabled and physically disabled college students by (1) exploring variables related to ease with people who have disabilities, and (2) evaluating the consequences of previous contact with disabled persons. A second goal was to explore the effects of four cognitive modeling interventions on thoughts, attitudes, affect, and self-efficacy expectations in relation to interaction with disabled peers. Results for 126 nondisabled college students indicate that lack of ease with persons who have disabilities is an important contributor to interaction difficulties; individuals who felt ill at ease with disabled college students (1) were more likely to anticipate being uncomfortable when interacting with a peer who has a disability, (2) had lower self-efficacy expectations about interacting in various social situations, (3) had more negative attitudes toward disabled persons, (4) expected to have more difficulty working with a disabled peer, and (5) had more negative thoughts about interacting with a disabled classmate. Previous contact with people who have disabilities was related to the frequency of positive thoughts about interaction but had minimal effects on attitudes or affect. Cognitive modeling was found to be ineffective in changing any aspect of these affective, attitudinal, and cognitive factors. The implications of the results for cognitive assessment and for resolving interaction problems between nondisabled and disabled individuals are discussed.

     

Sex counseling: comparison of attitudes of disabled and nondisabled subjects

The present study compared the views on sex counseling of a group of 103 orthopedically disabled persons and a group of 124 nondisabled persons. Subjects responded to a specially constructed questionnaire covering several issues related to sex counseling. Disabled persons preferred that the counseling be by a physician, rather than by a psychologist or social worker and that the counseling begin as late as ages 16-18, and they were less interested than nondisabled persons in counseling on sexual functioning and establishing a family. The responses of disabled persons were interpreted as indicating their greater anxiety toward the sensitive issue of sex. It was concluded that training programs for professionals--particularly physicians--who deal in sex counseling should include instruction about disabled persons and about the influence of cultural background on clients' attitudes towards sex counseling.     

Performance and attitudes of occupational therapists regarding sexual habilitation of pediatric patients

A survey of 70 registered occupational therapists was conducted to determine the therapists' performance of tasks related to the sexual development of disabled children and the therapists' attitudes toward sexual habilitation issues. The questionnaire used in the survey was developed after a review of the literature on sexuality and disability. Respondents indicated which of the nine tasks listed they performed, which they considered important, and for the performance of which they felt adequately prepared. They also designated individuals who, in their opinion, were best suited for the performance of each task. Results showed a discrepancy between respondents' positive attitudes toward tasks of sexual habilitation and the low frequency of reported task performances. No single health professional was clearly identified as appropriate for performing any of the tasks, nor were parents so identified. Therapists who had received information on sexual habilitation and rehabilitation performed significantly more of the tasks than did therapists without this educational experience.     

护理专业大专女生性观念与心理健康相关因素的分析

目的探讨护理专业大专女生性观念与心理因素之间的关系,为开展有效的青春期性教育提供科学依据。方法对1093名护理专业大专女生进行性观念问卷调查和症状自评量表（SCL-90）测试。结果本组有35．1％在谈恋爱,有38．2％赞同婚前性行为,有9．7％赞同婚外性行为。与国内常模比较,各心理因子分值均较高（P〈0．01）。进一步的多变量分析结果表明,偏执因子与本组恋爱行为呈显著正相关（P〈0．05）;敌对及偏执因子与本组婚前性行为观念呈显著正相关（P〈0．05）;偏执及精神病性因子与本组婚外性行为观念呈显著正相关（P〈0．05）,而人际关系敏感因子则呈显著负相关（P〈0．05）。结论在对护理专业大专女生进行青春期性教育时,不可忽视心理因素的影响;对偏执、敌对及精神病性因子较高的女生,需要结合其他形式进行教育。     

The measurement of the Hong Kong-based 'Baseline Survey of Students' Attitudes toward People with a Disability': cross-cultural validation in Lebanon

The negative attitudes of nondisabled persons are among the most serious invisible barriers to the full participation and integration of disabled citizens into society. A big question is, 'what is the current level of acceptance and recognition of disabled persons in a given society, and what kind of public awareness interventions shall be devised to promote positive changes?'. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the level of the existing attitudinal barriers in a war-torn, middle-income Arab country, Lebanon. The study attempted to determine the present level of prejudice against people with a disability in Lebanon, and to examine the relationship between the participants' attitudes, and their previous exposure to and personal experience with disability. An instrument, the 'Baseline Survey of Students' Attitudes toward People with a Disability', developed by the Equal Opportunity Commission of Hong Kong, was selected as the instrument. A total of 94 valid questionnaires were collected from three universities in Beirut, Lebanon. This instrument was able to differentiate the participating students' attitudes toward people with different types of disabilities. The scale and its subscales showed that students generally had less favorable attitudes toward people with intellectual impairment and mental illness (including the ex-mentally ill). The participating Lebanese university students (an older age group than the Hong Kong students) are more differentiating in their attitudes toward people with the two most-discriminated categories of disabled people (the intellectually disabled and those with mental illness history). The cross-cultural validity and reliability of this instrument has been confirmed, and the major findings of this study could inform future policy directions, public awareness-raising strategies and social interaction variables to foster positive public attitudes in Lebanon.     

Sex attitudes and prior victimization as predictors of college student sex offenses

A sample of 796 college student volunteers in Human Sexuality and Introductory Psychology classes were surveyed anonymously about sexual attitudes, experience, and knowledge. The survey measured attitude variables found previously to predict attitudes toward forcible date rape (Fischer, 1986) and behavioral measures, such as sexual experience and sexual abuse as a child, teenager, or adult. Survey variables wre related to two types of self-reported sexual offenders: (a) those who admitted to use of lies or false promises to have sex (N=69) and/or (b) those who admitted to use of threat or force to have sex (N=16). Logistic regression and discriminant analyses revealed that male gender, a tendency to blame society, rather than the male, in a date rape vignette, more accepting attitudes toward forcible date rape, having used threat or force to have sex and greater sexual experience, including same gender sexual experience, identified 71% of students admitting to having lied or made false promises to have sex. Only two variables (blaming society or the situation, rather than the male, in a date rape vignette and some likelihood of rape, if sure of not being caught) identified 73% of forcible male sex offenders. Prior victimization did not relate to either type of sex offending. Thus, Groth's (1979) explanation of forcible sexual assault as an expression of internal developmental crisis (resulting from prior sexual abuse) was not supported.     

Knowledge of and attitudes toward sex among Chinese adolescents

This study was conducted to examine the knowledge of and attitudes toward sex of 178 Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. The data were collected using a questionnaire that comprised three parts: the Chinese version of the Mathtech Knowledge Test, the Chinese version of the Mathtech Attitude and Value Scale, and a demographic sheet seeking sociodemographic information. In general, students demonstrated a low level of sexual knowledge, especially in relation to adolescent marriage, the probability of pregnancy, and adolescent sexual activity. With regard to attitudes, students indicated positive attitudes toward importance of family and importance of birth control. Male students in comparison with their female counterparts had a higher level of agreement with premarital intercourse and the use of pressure and force in sexual activity.     

Relationships among sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and safe sex behaviour among adolescents: A structural equation model

Background and objectives

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to test a cause-and-effect model of factors affecting sexual health among Taiwanese adolescents. A structural equation model was proposed in which the relationships among sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and safe sex behaviour were explored.

Participants

The study collected data from 823 adolescent students at a junior college in Central Taiwan.

Method

Participants were assessed using the Sexual Knowledge Scale, Sexual Attitudes Scale, and Safe Sex Behaviour Questionnaire and the demographic data were collected. The preliminary model fit criteria, overall model fit, and fit of internal structure of model was used to assess the sexual health model fit.

Results

Results revealed that sexual knowledge had a negative effect on sex attitudes and had no significant effect on safe sex behaviour. Adolescents with more sexual knowledge had less positive sexual attitudes and did not show increased practices of safe sex behaviour.

Conclusions

No significant correlation was found between sexual knowledge and safe sex behaviour of adolescents. Improvements in sexual attitudes were found to be irrelevant to the promotion of safe sex behaviour of adolescents. In order to ensure safe sexual health, it is strongly suggested that adolescents learn to be responsible for their own behaviours and attitudes and obtain correct knowledge about their understandings and evaluations of sexuality.     

浙江省455名男性大学生的临时异性性行为特征分析

  目的  了解浙江省男性大学生的临时异性性行为特征,为高校男性大学生艾滋病防控提供依据。  方法  采用分层整群抽样方法,于2018年在浙江省11个市13所高校,并选取自述最近1年有临时异性性行为的男性大学生为调查对象。 使用自制的网络调查问卷,收集调查对象的人口学特征、性态度、性行为发生情况、接受干预情况等信息。  结果  共调查最近1年有临时异性性行为的男性大学生455人,年龄为（20.09±1.38）岁,发生临时异性性行为占有性行为经历男生的16.6%。 研究对象中接受一夜情和商业性行为分别为78.0%和53.4%,最近1年接受学校艾滋病检测宣传为67.5%,想知道对方艾滋病感染情况的占51.3%,自觉有感染艾滋病风险的占11.8%;寻找临时性伴通过网络、娱乐场所和其他途径分别为33.3%、29.1%和37.6%,临时性伴数量≥2个的达60.4%,临时性伴含社会人员的占33.8%,酒后临时性行为和商业性行为发生率分别为45.0%和26.4%,接受艾滋病自愿咨询检测的为8.4%,发生性行为前讨论过安全套使用和发生性行为时每次使用安全套分别为72.7%和40.1%;最近1年与固定性伴发生性行为及安全套每次使用分别为67.5%和35.9%。  结论  有临时异性性行为的男性大学生存在性态度开放程度高,酒后性行为、商业性行为和网络寻找多性伴等危险行为,安全套使用率不高、艾滋病病毒抗体检测率低等情况。 应采取多措并举的预防艾滋病宣教干预形式,倡导安全性行为,减少艾滋病对大学生的危害。     

Medical students' attitudes toward persons with disability: a comparative study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate first-year medical students' attitudes toward persons with disability and to examine whether gender and a background in disability determine attitudes toward persons with disability. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: University settings in the United States and Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety first-year medical students (US, n=46; Canada, n=44) were surveyed. INTERVENTION: Medical students given 3 surveys. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Attitude Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) Scale, Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP), and Rehabilitation Situations Inventory (RSI). RESULTS: There were no differences between the medical student groups from the United States and Canada. Compared with norms, medical students overall have more positive attitudes on the ATDP. Their attitudes were less positive on the SADP and on its optimism-human rights subscale. On the RSI, they were less comfortable with sexual situations and depression. Male medical students held poorer attitudes as scored than female medical students. Those with a background in disability were more comfortable dealing with challenging rehabilitation situations. Comfort with challenging rehabilitation situations showed significant differences across levels of experience but not gender. The more positive medical students' attitudes are toward persons with disability, the more likely they are to be comfortable with challenging rehabilitation situations. CONCLUSION: First-year medical students from the United States and Canada held similar attitudes and had less positive attitudes than SADP norms. Gender and background in disability influenced attitudes. Male medical students were more likely to hold negative attitudes. Specific educational experiences need to promote more positive attitudes.     

Relationships between suicide attitudes and indicators of mental health among adolescents

A growing body of research literature suggests a relationship between mental health status and attitudes toward suicide among adolescents. This paper reports two studies which explored opposite ends of the mental health continuum as they relate to suicide attitudes among young people. The first study compared attitudes toward suicide between a group of institutionalized 15-24 year olds and a group of college students. The second study assessed suicide attitudes among a group of college students with differing levels of mental health. Two major findings of these studies were that (a) young women with mental health problems severe enough to require institutionalization agree more with all reasons for suicide than do institutionalized males or males and females in a non-institutionalized group, and (b) students who score higher on one measure of self-actualization (inner-directedness) sympathize, empathize, and agree less with all reasons for suicide than do students who score lower on the same measure. Gender, and, to some extent, sex roles were found to be influential in determining sympathetic attitudes toward suicide. Females and feminine males sympathize more than other groups with all reasons for suicide, while males and masculine females sympathize less. The findings are discussed from mental health and sex roles perspectives.     

Attitudes toward people with disabilities caused by illness or injury: beyond physical impairment

This study examined differences in attitudes toward and reactions to individuals with comparable disabilities caused by injury or illness. Participants were students and healthcare professionals randomly assigned to read one of eight vignettes constructed in a between-subjects, full-factorial design: 2 (illness/injury)× 2 (male/female)× 2 (visible/not visible). Participants completed questionnaires measuring reactions to the target person and attitudes toward people with disabilities. We found that both students and healthcare professionals expressed more positive attitudes toward persons with injury-related compared with illness-related disabilities, but that these differences were typically not expressed in reported social encounters with individual disabled persons. The effects of the illness-injury distinction were moderated by sex only among students, with the highest distancing reported from a female with an illness-related disability. Visibility of the disability triggered more social distancing among students, regardless of the injury-illness distinction. We concluded that the illness-injury distinction is a socially and psychologically significant factor.     

An Educational Program's Effects on Students' Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities: A 1-Year Follow-Up

The purpose of the study described here was to examine the attitudes of nursing students toward people with disabilities 1 year after the students had participated in an educational program on caring for such people. The program provided (a) information about this care, (b) simulated experiences related to different aspects of care, and (c) contact with disabled people as well as with rehabilitation health professionals. The study also examined how students' attitudes were influenced by the students' age, the number of years they had spent in the nursing program, their degree of experience in caring for people with disabilities, and their amount of personal interaction with disabled people. The Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale was administered to 67 nursing students before they completed the workshop. The participants were tested again 1 year later, thereby providing a matched group for examining attitude changes over time. The participants' attitudes were significantly more positive at the follow-up. At the 1-year follow-up, the ATDP scores of the intervention group were also compared with those of a second group of nursing students (n = 170) who had not participated in the educational program. The findings suggested that completion of the educational program was an important influence on students' development of positive attitudes toward people with disabilities.     

Sexual attitudes, behavior and satisfaction for able-bodied and disabled participants attending workshops in human sexuality.

Since 1973, Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) Workshops have been conducted for persons with physical handicaps, health care professionals and interested members of the community. Although reassessment of personal sexual attitudes is the primary objective of the workshops, several closely related objectives have emerged: (1) evaluation of the impact of the experience on changing both sexual attitudes and behaviors; (2) evaluation of the sexual satisfaction and problem areas of participants with particular reference to persons with physical disabilities; and (3) provision of an institute-wide catalyst for initiating programs and services based on newly identified unmet needs. This article presents data from 15 workshops with emphasis on comparing the sexual attitudes, behavior and satisfaction of the able-bodied and the disabled participants. Of the 650 participants, 98 (15%) were disabled and of this group approximately 75% had spinal cord injury. Comparison of pre- and post-workshop responses to sexual attitude scales showed similar and significant changes on four of nine scales for both the able-bodied and disabled groups. Analysis of sexual behavior and satisfaction by physical status revealed that the disabled participants were less active than the able-bodied participants although both groups reported similar percentages of satisfaction (38 and 41% respectively) with their current level of sexual activity. Lack of partners was cited most frequently by both groups as the major reason for dissatisfaction with current sexual status. Implications of these findings are discussed with regard to sexual counseling and areas of further research.     

Sexuality of nurses: correlations of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.

In a study of relationships among knowledge, attitudes, and statements of nursing behavior about sexuality, degree of comfort with sexual situations was measured with a Professional Sexual Role Inventory (PSRI), using ridit analysis. The PSRI and the Sex Knowledge and Attitude Test were administered in groups to 107 professional family planning nurses and 64 senior nursing students. The major hypothesis--the more knowledge a nurse has of human sexuality, the more favorable will be her attitude toward it and the more comfortable she will be in professional situations with sexual overtones--was supported. Significant positive correlations between sexual knowledge and attitudes and written responses indicated comfort in handling sexual situations. Analyses of variance of the test scores--by age, race, marital status, religion, religiosity, frequency of church attendance, and urbanization--demonstrated areas of sexuality which might be incorporated into nursing inservice training and education.     

Relationships between suicide attitudes and indicators of mental health among adolescents

Abstract

A growing body of research literature suggests a relationship between mental health status and attitudes toward suicide among adolescents. This paper reports two studies which explored opposite ends of the mental health continuum as they relate to suicide attitudes among young people. The first study compared attitudes toward suicide between a group of institutionalized 15–24 year olds and a group of college students. The second study assessed suicide attitudes among a group of college students with differing levels of mental health. Two major findings of these studies were that (a) young women with mental health problems severe enough to require institutionalization agree more with all reasons for suicide than do institutionalized males or males and females in a non-institutionalized group, and (b) students who score higher on one measure of self-actualization (inner-directedness) sympathize, empathize, and agree less with all reasons for suicide than do students who score lower on the same measure. Gender, and, to some extent, sex roles were found to be influential in determining sympathetic attitudes toward suicide. Females and feminine males sympathize more than other groups with all reasons for suicide, while males and masculine females sympathize less. The findings are discussed from mental health and sex roles perspectives.     

College women's experiences of sexual coercion: a review of cultural, perpetrator, victim, and situational variables

The literature on college women's experiences with sexual coercion is reviewed, with an emphasis on work published since 1990. Sexual coercion is defined as any situation in which one person uses verbal or physical means (including the administration of drugs or alcohol, with or without the other person's consent) to obtain sexual activity against consent. We argue that coercive sexual behavior among college students can best be understood within the context of other sexual behaviors and values on college campuses. Significant definitional and methodological problems are identified and discussed. Important victim, perpetrator, and situational variables are identified and discussed. These include attitudes toward women, beliefs about sexual behavior (including rape-supporting beliefs and values), communication problems, coercion-supporting peer groups (including fraternities and athletics), concepts of masculinity and femininity, sexual promiscuity, and alcohol.