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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL ORIENTATION AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
Title
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL ORIENTATION AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
Creator
Rafajko, Sean I.
Date
2016, 2016-07
Description
Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) face a number of disparities in their daily lives. Many of these disparities are the result of...
Show moreIndividuals with intellectual disability (ID) face a number of disparities in their daily lives. Many of these disparities are the result of interactions with people in their environment, including the general public. The behaviors of the general public toward people with ID are linked to the attitudes that they hold. Thus, it is essential to understand what influences these attitudes. Although there has been some research conducted examining how factors such as demographics and level of contact with individuals with ID affect attitudes, there has been only very limited research specifically investigating the impact of cultural factors on attitudes toward individuals with ID. The purpose of this study was to examine the unique contribution of cultural orientation variables as predictors of individuals’ attitudes toward ID using hierarchical regression analyses. Results revealed that for all examined domains of attitudes, cultural orientation accounted for a significant portion of the variance in attitudes toward ID. More specifically, it was found that greater vertical-individualist orientation was associated with more negative attitude towards ID on all domains, while other cultural orientations (horizontal-collectivist, horizontal-individualist, and vertical-collectivist), when significant, were associated with more positive attitudes toward ID. Findings from this study suggest that culture is a relevant area to explore in future research on attitudes toward ID. Further research is needed to understand how these relationships play out especially for specific groups, such as caregivers and clinicians, in order to better understand how cultural orientation can more directly affect the lives of individuals with ID.
M.S. in Psychology, July 2016
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Buried in stigma: Experimental investigation of the impact of hoarding depictions in reality television on public perception
Title
Buried in stigma: Experimental investigation of the impact of hoarding depictions in reality television on public perception
Creator
Bates, Sage
Date
2019
Description
Hoarding disorder (HD) has been newly classified as a distinct mental disorder and is a considerable public health concern. Treatment...
Show moreHoarding disorder (HD) has been newly classified as a distinct mental disorder and is a considerable public health concern. Treatment ambivalence is a problem in this clinical population, and stigma of HD may be one potential factor contributing to an unwillingness to seek treatment. However, stigma of HD has been understudied, despite the media often perpetuating severe and negative representations of individuals with HD. This study is the first to investigate experimentally the impact of a popular reality television show on attitudes and beliefs about individuals with HD. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which they watched popular television shows with varying degrees of clutter: Hoarders (high clutter depiction), Clean House (medium clutter depiction), and House Hunters (low clutter depiction). Participant attitudes and beliefs were evaluated before and after the episode viewing. Results of the study showed that participants who viewed A&E’s Hoarders desired more social distance from individuals with HD—an index of stigma—after viewing the television show, compared to the other groups. The interaction effects of two additional indices of stigma based on watching Hoarders approached statistical significance. There were also significant effects found for other indices of stigma. The present experimental study contributes to the very small body of research investigating stigma of HD and possible causes of treatment ambivalence in individuals living with HD.
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The Impact of Knowledge, Self-efficacy, and Stigma on STI Testing Intention among College Students
Title
The Impact of Knowledge, Self-efficacy, and Stigma on STI Testing Intention among College Students
Creator
Thomas, Julia
Date
2019
Description
Young people (ages 15-24) account for over half of the new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) each year in the United States (CDC...
Show moreYoung people (ages 15-24) account for over half of the new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) each year in the United States (CDC, 2016). The current study examined how knowledge, self-efficacy, and stigma are associated with STI testing intention among sexually active college students using path model analysis. Data were collected via an online survey (N = 76, 54% female). STI testing intention was measured using a 5-point Likert scale for eight STIs referenced in the Brief Sexual History Tool (CDC, 2018). These items comprised an intention scale with high internal consistency for this sample (α = .97). Path analysis was conducted using SPSS AMOS and MacKinnon’s ab product approach in RMediation was used to test mediating effects. The predicted path model fit the data well and the relationships between self-efficacy and knowledge, label avoidance, and intention were significant. Mediation analysis revealed significant indirect paths for knowledge and label avoidance on STI testing intention through self-efficacy. These findings indicate that self-efficacy directly impacts college students’ STI testing intention, while knowledge and label avoidance indirectly impact intention through self-efficacy. Findings suggest that providers and college health clinics may be able to increase the frequency of STI testing behavior by promoting strategies to increase students’ self-efficacy.
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The Public Stigma of Tourette Syndrome
Title
The Public Stigma of Tourette Syndrome
Creator
Tooley, Anastasia Cherise
Date
2021
Description
There is a dearth of quantitative research examining the public stigma of Tourette syndrome (TS), and no known studies assessing public...
Show moreThere is a dearth of quantitative research examining the public stigma of Tourette syndrome (TS), and no known studies assessing public perceptions of difference (how similar they are), disdain (how bad they are), and blame (how responsible they are) toward individuals with TS. The current study sought to understand the public stigma of TS as a visible and unconcealable condition. An internet sample of 450 adults were recruited through MTurk. Participants read four brief vignettes, each describing an adolescent with TS, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or a history of juvenile detention. Results showed TS to be associated with neutral or negative public perceptions across stigma facets. When compared to OCD and ASD, vignettes describing TS were viewed with similar difference, disdain, and blame. TS was least familiar to participants. Findings highlight differences in stigma for concealable versus visible stigmatized conditions which has implications for future research and anti-stigma interventions.
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Testing Models of Minority Stress and Cognitive Escape in a Large Sample of Lesbian/Gay Individuals
Title
Testing Models of Minority Stress and Cognitive Escape in a Large Sample of Lesbian/Gay Individuals
Creator
Manser, Kelly
Date
2020
Description
Compared to heterosexual individuals, gay/lesbian individuals experience health and sociopolitical disparities. Health disparities include...
Show moreCompared to heterosexual individuals, gay/lesbian individuals experience health and sociopolitical disparities. Health disparities include higher prevalence of binge drinking, tobacco use, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among gay/lesbian individuals. Sociopolitical disparities are rooted in structural stigma and include policies and norms that fail to protect, or actively discriminate against, gay/lesbian individuals. These health and sociopolitical disparities can be understood by converging two theories previously tested among gay/lesbian individuals – minority stress and cognitive escape. Minority stress theory asserts factors such as structural stigma may relate to proximal stress and negative health sequelae in targeted minority groups, while cognitive escape theory suggests escape-related behaviors like substance use may mediate links between systemic factors and individual health. This study used binary logistic regressions to test mediation models in which substance use mediated links between structural stigma and health within a large sample of gay/lesbian individuals. Structural stigma was operationalized as number of sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws, health was operationalized as presence versus absence of any CVD conditions, and substance use was operationalized as binge drinking and tobacco use. Models were tested in an aggregated sample, and also in sex/gender subsamples. In bivariate and component-path analyses, structural stigma predicted smoking frequency across samples. Stigma-binge drinking linkages were more salient among lesbian women compared to gay men. According to Sobel tests, smoking status mediated the stigma-CVD status relation for males-only and combined-sex samples. Study strengths, limitations, and implications are discussed.
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