Intellectual disability literacy and its connection to stigma: A multinational comparison study in three European countries

Autor(en)

Elisabeth Zeilinger, Katharina Stiehl, Holly Bagnall, Katrina Scior

Abstrakt

Article 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities requires governments around the globe to raise awareness on issues of disability in their societies, combatting stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices. Little comparative data is available on lay people's social representations of intellectual disability and associated stigma, which could inform actions in line with the convention. The present study compared intellectual disability literacy and stigma among adults in the general population in the UK, Austria and Germany (N = 1046), and examined the effects of providing an intellectual disability label on these outcomes. Although participants came from highly developed European countries and prior contact with people with intellectual disabilities was common, the findings pointed to some striking differences between countries. Participants in Austria and Germany were much less likely than those in the UK to identify symptoms of a possible intellectual disability in an unlabelled vignette. They were also much more hostile towards social contact, a difference that was maintained when participants were informed of the intellectual disability label. Labelling showed controversial effects on stigma, both in its effects on social distance and on beliefs about suitable causes and interventions. Overall, the social acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities appears to be much less advanced in Austria and Germany than in the UK, and awareness of intellectual disability much lower, indicating a need for action at societal level.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Karl Landsteiner Privatuniversität für Gesundheitswissenschaften, King's College London, University College London

Journal

PLoS ONE

Band

15

Anzahl der Seiten

14

ISSN

1932-6203

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239936

Publikationsdatum

10-2020

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501021 Sozialpsychologie, 501010 Klinische Psychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all), General, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)

Link zum Portal

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/intellectual-disability-literacy-and-its-connection-to-stigma-a-multinational-comparison-study-in-three-european-countries(da6ce416-3b06-41ab-8e5a-01781e969093).html