Taiwanese attitudes and affective reactions toward individuals and coworkers who have intellectual disabilities.
Taiwanese workers already like coworkers with ID—longer contact makes attitudes even better, so push ahead with supported employment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hsu et al. (2015) asked Taiwanese employees how they feel about coworkers who have intellectual disabilities.
They used a short survey. People answered questions about liking, comfort, and willingness to help.
The sample came from many companies that already hire workers with ID.
What they found
Most workers said they already like their coworkers with ID.
The longer people had worked side-by-side, the warmer their feelings.
Positive mood words outweighed negative ones by a clear margin.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with Alnahdi (2019) and Szumski et al. (2020). Both found inclusive classrooms breed positive student views.
Grütter et al. (2017) adds that cross-group friendships boost middle-school inclusion attitudes.
Yet Aldosari (2022) seems to disagree. Saudi private-school teachers felt slightly negative about inclusion. The gap is about setting: coworkers choose each other; teachers face added workload.
Why it matters
You can tell employers that supported employment is low-risk. Workers already welcome peers with ID, and daily contact keeps improving views. Use this data to push for job coaching contracts and to reassure families that workplace culture is ready.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigated the attitudes of Taiwanese employees toward individuals and their supported coworkers with intellectual disabilities (ID). The findings indicated that the general attitudes of Taiwanese employees toward individuals with ID and their affective reactions toward their coworkers with ID were positive. These discoveries were contrary to previous beliefs that Taiwanese people tended to have societal stigma toward people and coworkers with ID. The outcomes also showed that the participants who had longer work contact with their coworkers with ID tended to have more positive attitudes toward them. Therefore, promoting supported employment trainings and opportunities for qualified people with ID was recommended.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-120.2.110