ABSTRACT
A positive attitude towards people with disabilities plays a pertinent role in successful inclusion and in attaining social equality, while a negative attitude has an adverse impact on people with disabilities. This study was designed to investigate the attitude of higher education students without disabilities towards people with disabilities. ‘Brief Questionnaire for Adolescents on Attitudes towards Persons with a Disability (CBAD-12A)’ was administered to 105 students from the colleges and universities of India covering three states viz. West Bengal, Gujarat, and Punjab. The findings revealed that overall a negative attitude prevailed among higher education students towards people with disabilities. Significant differences in the overall score were found with respect to age groups, gender, area of residency, prior familiarity, academic disciplines, and income levels. Factor-wise scores were not significant for all the variables. Parents’ qualifications were negatively correlated with students’ attitudes towards disability, while parents’ occupation was not significantly correlated with students’ attitudes. The results of the study have implications for the higher education institutes and the stakeholders who ought to take steps to introduce awareness programs and activities to acquaint higher education students with people with disabilities and develop a positive attitude towards them.
