French Validation of the Multidimensional Attitude Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS): The Case of Attitudes Toward Autism and Their Moderating Factors.

Dachez et al. (2015) translated the Multidimensional Attitude Scale into French. They wanted a tool that could measure how French people feel about individuals with autism.

The team checked if the French version kept the same four-factor structure as the original. They also looked at whether age, gender, or prior contact with autistic people changed the scores.

The French MAS held together well. Internal consistency was acceptable, so the items hang together as a scale.

Age, gender, and contact did not clearly shift the scores. The scale works, but those background traits do not seem to sway it much.

Xia et al. (2020) ran the same check in Chinese and got the same thumbs-up. Together, the two papers show the MAS travels well across languages.

Mazouffre et al. (2026) later asked what actually moves French attitudes. They found facts cut explicit stigma, yet only close personal contact trimmed hidden bias. This looks like a clash—Julie’s team saw no contact effect, Camille’s did. The gap is about depth: Julie counted any contact; Camille counted close, ongoing contact.

Taylor et al. (2017) built a different tool, the ASK-Q, that mixes knowledge and stigma. Using both MAS and ASK-Q side-by-side could give a fuller picture of what people know and how they feel.

You now have a free, French, four-factor scale ready for program checks. Use it before and after inclusion trainings to see if attitudes budge. Pair it with the ASK-Q or Camille’s familiarity survey to find out why scores change. If numbers stay flat, probe for close personal contact—surface exposure may not be enough.