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Current Attitudes Towards Disabled People Aiden, H. S., & McCarthy, A. (2014). Current attitudes towards disabled people. Scope. http://www.scope.org.uk/About- Us/Media/Press-releases/May-2014/New-research-Majority-of-Brits- uncomfortable-talki Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via SCOPE at http://www.scope.org.uk/Scope/media/Images/Publication Directory/Current-attitudes-towards-disabled- people.pdf. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ Current attitudes towards disabled people In this report Executive summary 3 Introduction 5 What do we mean by attitudes? 6 Attitudes today 7 Changing attitudes 12 Conclusion 17 Notes 18 Acknowledgements We would like to thank all our research partners for the research they carried out prior to this report, especially Henning von Arnim and James Burden at Opinium, Phillip Copestake and Sanah Sheikh at OPM, and Alex Bollen and Sheonaidh Johnston at Ipsos MORI. Report authors: Hardeep Aiden and Andrea McCarthy May 2014 2 Executive summary Twenty years ago we changed our person because they weren’t name from The Spastics Society sure how to communicate to Scope, because we recognised with them. the impact of negative language Disabled people and their and public attitudes on disabled people’s lives. families tell Scope that negative attitudes affect every area of their Over the last two decades, the lives – in the playground, at work, introduction of equality legislation in shops, on the street. and improved access to public spaces mean disabled people But how can we improve have greater opportunities, attitudes to disabled people? visibility and aspirations than Much of the discomfort people ever before. feel about disability may stem But despite this progress, from a lack of understanding. Not negative public attitudes enough people know a disabled and awkwardness about person – nearly half (43%) of the disability prevail. British public say they do not know anyone who is disabled • Two thirds (67%) of the British – and many are concerned that public feel uncomfortable talking they will do or say the wrong to disabled people. thing when talking to disabled people or about disability. • Over a third (36%) of people tend to think of disabled people as not Our research shows that both as productive as everyone else. the general public and disabled • Over four fifths (85%) of the people believe that more British public believe that everyday interactions and greater disabled people face prejudice. public education about disability will increase understanding and • A quarter (24%) of disabled acceptance of disabled people. people have experienced attitudes or behaviours where We all have a role to play and other people expected less of Scope is playing its part. This them because of their disability. year, we’re launching a national campaign to get us all thinking • One fifth (21%) of 18 – 34 years about what we can do to include old admit that they have actually disabled people more in our lives. avoided talking to a disabled 3 4 Introduction In 2014, disabled people continue OPM and Ipsos MORI[1] and three to face challenges in many areas surveys conducted by Opinium, of their lives and many of these including one on knowledge and challenges involve people’s attitudes towards disability.[2] attitudes. But what do attitudes towards disabled people currently Research on attitudes towards look like? This report brings disability and disabled people is together a range of research that steadily increasing, but there’s still Scope has commissioned over the much more that can be done to last two years to understand current understand the issues involved. attitudes towards disability and Our focus in this report is on disabled people. exploring the kinds of attitudes people hold towards disabled In this report, we take a look at the people and how that relates to kind of attitudes and behaviours people’s life experiences and who that people who aren’t disabled they are. display towards disabled people and the attitudes that disabled This report does not attempt people themselves say they to explore the impact of specific experience. We consider the policy changes or social and reasons for these attitudes and environmental trends on how what can be done to change attitudes are shaped and evolve negative attitudes. over time. Nor does it consider the relationship between public This report is based on findings attitudes and the incidence from a series of research projects of victimisation and hate crime. commissioned by Scope. These Both are important areas of comprise a large-scale mixed research that are beyond the methods project conducted by scope of this work. Understanding how and why attitudes towards disabled people and disability are formed is crucial. 5 What do we mean by attitudes? Attitudes are a complex patterns in people’s attitudes. collection of beliefs, feelings, People with shared values and dispositions which characteristics or common social characterise the way we think experiences may well develop or feel about certain people or similar attitudes towards disabled situations. People’s attitudes are people or disability in general. a product of life experiences, including the relationships we There is a growing body of evidence to indicate that build with the people around us. disabled people are more likely For example, a person’s attitudes than people who aren’t disabled towards one disabled person to experience the attitudes might be shaped by their personal of others as a major barrier experience of knowing another to education, leisure, transport, disabled person. And these access to public services, social attitudes often affect the way contact and accessibility outside people behave in particular the home.[3] Understanding the situations or towards other people. prevalence of positive and negative attitudes and which Attitudes are transient and groups of people hold them change from person to person, is crucial if we want to from group to group, and even understand how to improve within groups over time. public attitudes. Nonetheless we do tend to see 6 Attitudes today The last two decades have A more recent survey found that witnessed important legislative just a third (33%) of British people changes seeking to tackle said that they would feel discrimination towards disabled comfortable talking to disabled people.[4] Despite these changes, people, with many worried that however, negative attitudes they will seem patronising or say continue to persist. the wrong thing.[9] The research suggests that one of the reasons Negative attitudes towards behind such behaviours may disabled people are widespread be that 43% of people say that Research by Opinium found that they do not know anyone who the majority of UK adults generally is disabled. believe that disabled people face [5] Men aged 18 – 34 are the group prejudice in Britain. In line with least likely to interact with disabled previous waves of the British [6] people and most likely to hold Social Attitudes survey, well over negative attitudes towards half (57%) of respondents agreed disabled people. In fact, one fifth that there is ‘a little’ prejudice and (21%) of 18 – 34 year olds a quarter (28%) agreed there is say they have avoided talking ‘a lot’. to a disabled person because Nearly four in ten (38%) people they were not sure how to [10] surveyed think of disabled communicate with them. people as less productive than But age and gender alone do not non-disabled people, over three tell us enough about a person to quarters (76%) think of disabled be able to determine what might people as needing to be cared cause negative attitudes towards for, and 13% think of disabled disabled people. Figure 1 people as getting in the way [7] highlights two key findings from some or most of the time. the Opinium research that tell This evidence supports other us more about where negative studies that have shown that attitudes stem from. a substantial proportion of the First, people seem to be much population believe that disabled more comfortable around people people are less capable than with more ‘visible’ disabilities non-disabled people, in need of [8] (physical or sensory disabilities), care, and dependent on others. than they are around people 7 with less visible disabilities More than anything else, this (mental health conditions suggests that people are more or learning disabilities). uncomfortable with the idea of disabled people being in positions Studies have shown that negative of authority. The research did not attitudes and discrimination are uncover whether this is because worse towards people with mental they think disabled people can’t health conditions and learning fulfil these roles. Yet around a disabilities. This may be due quarter (24%) of disabled people to a generally poor level of have felt that people expected understanding about these less of them because of their disabilities and how they affect disability.[11] If this is part of the people’s social participation reason, it points to a real lack or it may be an indication of understanding around disabled of the prevalence of negative people’s capabilities. stereotypes concerning these conditions. Many disabled people are experiencing these negative Second, people are more attitudes comfortable with the idea of a relative marrying a disabled The pervasiveness of negative person or the person next door attitudes among the general being disabled than they are with public has not gone unnoticed their MP or boss being disabled.
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