Coles, S.J.; (2008) Attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities: A cross cultural study. Doctoral thesis , University of London.

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Abstract

Part 1, the literature review, considers the historical context of conceptualisations of ID and service provision for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK. Current policies are outlined and research on public attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities is considered, to help us understand the broader climate within which policies are implemented. Furthermore, this review critiques the quantitative approaches currently dominant within attitudinal research. It concludes that the impact of demographics particularly culture and religion, on attitudes to ID remain under researched areas. Part 2, the empirical paper, reports on a study which explores attitudes towards people with intellectual disability among young people (ages 16-19) from white British and South Asian backgrounds (Total N=6 and how they arrive at their beliefs. Five themes regarding attitudes were identified: confusion versus more sophisticated understandings of ID invisibility of people with ID versus representations in the media universal humanity positioning self as accepting and empowering and views on care giving, with marked differences occurring between cultural groups. The main influences on attitudes towards people with ID acknowledged by participants were culture, religion, parents, education and previous contact with people with ID. Of note, there were more similarities than differences between groups in terms of what they viewed as influencing their attitudes. Both individual interviews and focus groups were useful in generating data. Part 3, the critical appraisal, discusses the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the present study, with references to changes in understandings of phenomena, sampling, being a white researcher and critically evaluating qualitative research. Finally, this part concludes with a discussion of areas for future research and possible clinical implications derived from the study.

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