Attitudes of University of Malta students towards people with disabilities

Abstract

This research study explores the attitudes of the University of Malta students towards people with disabilities. It explores how these attitudes can act as psychological barriers which hinder people with disabilities from going about their daily routine. The Attitude towards Disabled Persons Scale (from now onwards referred to as ATDP), which is a standardised test, was sent through the Registrar’s office to all students by email. The research tool was replied to by over one hundred participants and the results show, that even though a lot of the statements got a neutral majority, the significant findings showed a positive attitude towards people with disabilities overall. However there is still room for a lot of improvement in various sectors of society. Finally, the results are discussed and the recommendations for further research in the future are made so as to achieve a deeper understanding of attitudes we hold in favour of or against people with disabilities.