Attitudes of Japanese students toward people with intellectual disability.
U.S. attitude scales work in Japan, and students heading toward care careers already hold the kindest views.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave U.S. attitude scales about intellectual disability to Japanese college students. They wanted to see if the same ideas that show up in the U.S. also show up in Japan.
They asked students about their major and whether they planned to work with people who have intellectual disabilities.
What they found
The scales worked the same way in Japan as in the U.S. The same questions grouped together.
Students majoring in social work or psychology had the most positive views. Students who wanted ID careers also scored higher.
How this fits with other research
Wakabayashi et al. (2006) did the same kind of cross-check with the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in Japan. Both studies show Western tools keep their shape when used in Japan.
Xia et al. (2020) and Dachez et al. (2015) repeated the idea in China and France. Each paper confirms that attitude scales hold together across cultures, whether the focus is ID or autism.
Gillespie-Lynch et al. (2019) went further and looked at what lowers stigma. Together these papers build a map: first prove the tool works, then find what changes attitudes.
Why it matters
If you run staff training or parent workshops outside the U.S., you can trust translated attitude scales to give true scores. Use them to screen for cohorts who may need extra contact or education before starting placements. Target social-work and psychology students first—they already show warmer views and can become peer models for others.
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Add a short attitude pre-test to your next Japanese college workshop and compare social-work majors with other majors.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to gain insight into the structure and organization of the attitudes of Japanese students toward people with intellectual disability (ID). The study also examined how these attitudes are related to individual characteristics, such as experience with people with ID, major field of study and career interests. METHODS: The participants completed a series of measures developed in the USA: three measures of attitudes toward people with ID, a demographic questionnaire and a social desirability scale. Students completed the measures anonymously. RESULTS: The factor structures of all three attitude scales replicated the structures found in the USA. Attitudes toward the community inclusion of people with ID were negatively correlated with an endorsement of eugenics. Students in social work and psychology had more positive attitudes than other students. Participants who expressed an interest in a career working with people with ID had more positive attitudes than students with no interest in such a career. CONCLUSIONS: Attitude measures developed in the USA can be used in Japan, and can provide useful information as well as an opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons. For a more complete understanding of the attitudes of Japanese people toward people with ID, these attitudes should also be studied using measures based in Japanese culture which have specifically developed to measure attitudes in Japan.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2002 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2788.2002.00406.x