Measuring children's attitudes towards peers with disabilities: a review of instruments

Abstract

This study aimed to identify instruments for measuring children's attitudes towards their peers with disabilities that are suitable for use in epidemiological studies and to report on their psychometric properties. A literature review was conducted to identify instruments measuring at least one of the three components of children's attitudes (affective, behavioural, or cognitive measures) towards peers with disabilities and which are intended for self-completion by children. Criteria used to appraise these instruments were appropriateness, acceptability, validity, reliability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Of the 19 instruments matching the inclusion criteria, 16 measured only one attitude component (affective, n=4; behavioural, n=5; cognitive, n=7); one measured cognitive and behavioural components; and two (Acceptance Scale and ChedokeMcMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps Scale [CATCH]) measured all three components. The majority of instruments, and those most widely used, were developed in the 1970s and 80s and so do not cover some aspects relevant to current culture, although they are still being used in research. Acceptable levels of validity and reliability were reported. Detailed descriptions of the initial validation process were available for the Acceptance Scale, Adjective Checklist, CATCH, and Peer Attitudes Towards the Handicapped Scale. The Acceptance Scale and CATCH seem to be the most complete instruments among those identified as they include all three attitude components and have appropriate psychometric properties.In the past three decades, policies on inclusive education have resulted in increased integration of children with disabilities into mainstream schools. Inclusive education encourages the acceptance of children with disabilities by their non-disabled peers and can bring about social benefits for all pupils. Negative peer attitudes are commonly considered to be a major barrier to full social inclusion of students with disabilities in schools. 1 Therefore, it is important to promote positive attitudes towards these children and to be able to measure the effects of interventions designed to encourage attitude change.Conceptually, attitudes are thought to be multidimensional, 2 and composed of affective, behavioural, and cognitive components. The affective component addresses feelings and emotional reactions, the behavioural component relates to actual or intended behaviour, and the cognitive component reflects beliefs and knowledge. 3-5 Different approaches have been used to measure attitudes towards people with disabilities, including: (1) direct methods, such as opinion surveys, sociometric techniques, adjective checklists, semantic differential scales, summed rating scales, or social distance scales; 2,4 and (2) indirect methods, such as behavioural observations in which respondents are either unaware that they are being observed, or are unaware of the reason they are being observed. 2 The aim of this article is to present a review of self-completion ...

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