ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) recognises the importance of the social inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in society as a fundamental human right and economic necessity. An accurate, comparative, cross-cultural way to measure the social integration of differently abled people is necessary in order to evaluate compliance with the EU vision goals and to implement appropriate disability interventions in the various societies that make up the EU. The attitudes and evaluations of non-disabled people toward people with disabilities influence not only everyday social interactions between differently abled people but also shape the built environment and ultimately dictate processes of inclusion and exclusion. A significant negative correlation would indicate that people with disabilities are judged as less able or likely to conform to cultural norms and expectations regarding who is a good, competent citizen or how one ought to be and should behave in that particular society.
