The Japanese Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders¹

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a Japanese Multidimensional Attitudes Scale (J-MAS) as a useful instrument to assess negative attitudes toward persons with autism spectrum disorder among typical Japanese persons. Five hundred and fiftytwo Japanese participants completed the Japanese translation of the original version of the MAS, which was derived via the translation/back-translation method. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors (Cognitions, Negative Affects, Behaviors, and Calm) that corresponded to the factor model of the original version of the MAS. Nine items were statistically negligible, accordingly. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor model of the J-MAS is fairly good, and preferable to the factor models of the English, Spanish, French, Korean, and German versions for a sample of typical Japanese persons. These results indicate that the J-MAS provides a valid assessment of attitudes toward persons with autism spectrum disorder among typical Japanese persons.

Validation of the multiple disability multidimensional attitudes scale toward persons with disabilities.

“…Our replication of the four-factor structure of the German MAS suggests its applicability across cultures as well as different types of disabilities. Our study supports the feasibility of the MD-MAS by disability types using vignettes that describe various situations of interacting with an individual with a different type of disability (Dachez et al, 2015; Lu et al, 2020; Tsujita et al, 2021). The same structure across the different disability types will allow researchers to compare attitudes based on disability types.…”

“…In the study of the French MAS, the vignette remained the same aside from changing the stimulus from “person in a wheelchair” to “person with autism.” When the French MAS, German MAS, and Spanish MAS underwent a validation process, there was a similarity in their underlying constructs as compared to the original three-factor model identified by Findler et al (2007). These validation studies found support for a four-factor structure (Dachez et al, 2015; Govina et al, 2020; Lu et al, 2020; Lu & Kim, 2017; Stevens et al, 2013; Tsujita et al, 2021; Wöhrle et al, 2018). The variation from the original three-factor model comes from a secondary construct that emerges within the affect dimensions.…”

Attitudes of Polish Medical and Health Sciences Students towards Persons with Physical Disabilities Using the MAS-PL Scale

“…The lack of a significant gender relationship regarding attitudes has been shown in several MAS scale studies (e.g., [12,14,18,23]), while other relationships have been shown. In a study of German underage students on attitudes towards physical disability, gender was not significant and less than 1/3 of all students had positive attitudes [18].…”

“…To date, many tools have been created to measure the attitudes towards people with disabilities, the best known and longest used of which is the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale created in 1960 by Yuker et al [8], which measures the affective and behavioural domains. The ATDP scale has become a reference for many other scales created, including the widely used and translated [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) [24], which measures attitudes in all three dimensions: thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The MAS scale can be used as a tool to measure attitudes in a variety of settings, including after the application of an educational intervention and in relation to people with different types of disabilities by modifying the scenario of the illustration that begins the survey.…”

Development and Validation of a New Scale to Assess Attitudes and Perspectives Toward Persons With Disabilities

“…The respondent's affect, thoughts, and possible behavior in this specific situation are questioned and the responses are translated into a final score. Although the MAS has been validated with many people from different countries such as Japan, Ethiopia, Turkey, France, and Spain, the scale has several limitations [19][20][21][22]. The scale predefines the type of disability (physical disability), and thus limits the extendibility of the scale to other types of disability.…”