The relationship of contact and social distance to attitudes toward deaf and disabled persons

The present study investigated the amount and quality of contact and social distance as it relates to attitudes towards persons who are disabled and towards persons who are deaf by persons who are deaf and persons who can hear. The sample of men and women over age 18 included 187 hearing students from the College of Staten Island and Hofstra University and 187 deaf students from Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Attitudes toward deafness and disability were measured by using two versions of the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale-Form O (ATDP-O). Independent variables were contact, social distance, and hearing status. Contact was measured using three variations of the Contact with Disabled Persons Scale (CDP) to determine the amount and quality of contact with persons who are deaf (CDP-d), "not deaf (CDP-nd)," and disabled (CDP-da). Social distance was measured using the Disability Social Distance Scale (DSDS). Demographics were collected using a general information sheet.;Results indicate that significant positive relationships exist among the following for hearing persons: contact with disabled persons and attitudes toward persons who are disabled (r =.351, r...