Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-fqc5m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-26T14:23:53.970Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Attitudes Toward Employees with Disabilities: A Systematic Review of Self-Report Measures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Jonathon S. Breen*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
*
Address for correspondence: Jonathon S. Breen, School of Social Work, University of British Columbia, 2080 West Mall, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z4. Email: jon@jonbreen.ca
Get access

Abstract

Accurate measures of changes in workplace attitudes toward people with disabilities are required to determine whether employee training and other interventions are effective. This critical systematic review searched Medline, PsycInfo, Google Scholar, Cinahl, and Cochrane Collaboration for suitable instruments published between 2005 and 2015, and for those published earlier if still indicated to be in active use. In total, 13 scans were conducted. Inclusion criteria included wildcard and free text variations of workplace attitudes, adults with disabilities, and competitive employment. In total, 9 of 49 studies were selected for review. Data from each of these were categorized through the PICO model (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome), mapped within a PRISMA flow chart, and analyzed through an 18-point weight of evidence framework for empirical quality, relevance, and evidence of theoretical validity. Weight of evidence scores for empirical quality ranged from 10 to 16 out of a possible score of 18. None of the studies provided an explicit evidence of theoretical validity. Measures of responsiveness to change in workplace attitudes appear less well validated than those for single timeframes.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, & Joint Committee on Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. (U.S.). (2014). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.Google Scholar
Antonak, R. (1982). Development and psychometric analysis of the Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 13 (2), 2229.Google Scholar
Antonak, R., & Livneh, H. (2000). Measurement of attitudes towards persons with disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 22 (5), 211224.Google Scholar
Bohner, G., & Dickel, N. (2011). Attitudes and attitude change. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 391417.Google Scholar
Boland, A., Cherry, M., & Dickson, R. (eds.). (2014). Doing a Systematic Review: A Student's Guide. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Brostrand, H. (2006). Tilting at windmills: Changing attitudes toward people with disabilities. Journal of Rehabilitation, 72 (1), 49.Google Scholar
Burke, J., Bezyak, J., Fraser, R., Pete, J., Ditchman, N., & Chan, F. (2013). Employers’ attitudes towards hiring and retaining people with disabilities: A review of the literature. Australian Journal of Rehabilitative Counseling, 19 (1), 2138.Google Scholar
Chan, F., Strausser, D., Maher, D., Lee, E-J., Jones, R., & Johnson, E. (2010). Demand-side factors related to employment of people with disabilities: A survey of employers in the Midwest region of the United States. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 20, 412419.Google Scholar
Copeland, J., Chan, F., Bezyak, J., & Fraser, R. (2010). Assessing cognitive and affective reactions of employers toward people with disabilities in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 20 (4), 427434.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Los Angeles: Sage.Google Scholar
DeVellis, R. (2017). Scale Development: Theory and Applications (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Devine, P. (1989). The role of stereotypes and personal beliefs. In Pratkanis, A., Breckler, S., & Greenwald, A. (eds.), Attitude, Structure and Function (pp. 181212). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Domzal, C., Houtenville, A., & Sharma, R. (2008). Survey of Employer Perspectives on the Employment of People with Disabilities: Technical Report. (Prepared under contract to the Office of Disability and Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor). McLean, VA: CESSI.Google Scholar
Dutta, A., Gervey, R., Chan, F., Chou, C., & Ditchman, F. (2012). Understanding employers hiring intentions in relation to qualified workers with disabilities: A United States study. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18, 326334.Google Scholar
Eagly, A., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The Psychology of Attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Findler, L., Vichinsky, N., & Werner, S. (2007). The multidimensional attitudes scale toward persons with disabilities (MAS): Construction and validation. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 50 (3), 166176.Google Scholar
Fuhr, R., & Bacharach, V. (2014). Psychometrics: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Gething, L., & Wheeler, B. (1992). The interaction with disabled persons scale: A new Australian instrument to measure attitudes towards people with disabilities. Australian Journal of Psychology, 44 (2), 7582.Google Scholar
Gilbride, D., Vandergoot, D., Golden, K., & Stensrud, R. (2006). Development and validation of the Employer Openness Survey. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 49 (2), 8189.Google Scholar
Gough, D. (2007). Weight of evidence: A framework for the appraisal of the quality and relevance of evidence. Research Papers in Education, 22 (2), 213228.Google Scholar
Gough, D., Oliver, S., & Thomas, J. (2012). An Introduction to Systematic Reviews. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Greenwald, A., McGhee, D., & Schwartz, J. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (6), 14641480.Google Scholar
Hacking, I. (1999). The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hubley, A., & Zumbo, B. (1996). A dialectic on validity: Where we have been and where we are going. The Journal of General Psychology, 123 (3), 207215.Google Scholar
Hubley, A., & Zumbo, B. (2011). Validity and the consequences of test interpretation and use. Social Indicators Research, 103 (2), 219230.Google Scholar
Hubley, A., & Zumbo, B. (2013). Psychometric characteristics of assessment procedures: An overview. In Geisinger, K. (ed.), APA Handbook of Testing and Assessment in Psychology: Vol. 1. Test Theory and Testing and Assessment in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 319). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Jasper, C., & Waldhart, P. (2013). Employer attitudes on hiring employees with disabilities in the leisure and hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25 (4), 577594.Google Scholar
Kane, M. (2013). Validating the interpretations and uses of test scores. Journal of Educational Measurement, 50 (1), 173.Google Scholar
Lam, W., Gunukula, S., McGuigan, D., Isaiah, N., Symons, A., & Akl, E. (2010). Validated instruments used to measure attitudes of healthcare students and professionals towards patients with physical disability: A systematic review. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 7, 5561.Google Scholar
Littell, J., Corcoran, J., & Pillai, V. (2008). Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Loo, R. (2004). Attitudes toward employing persons with disabilities: A test of the sympathy-discomfort categories. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34 (10), 22002214.Google Scholar
Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative Researching (2nd ed.). London: Sage.Google Scholar
McCaughey, T., & Strohmer, D. (2005). Prototypes as an indirect measure of attitudes toward disability groups. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 48 (2), 8999.Google Scholar
Messick, S. (1990). Validity of test interpretation and use. Research Rep. No. 90-11. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.Google Scholar
Messick, S. (1995). Validity of psychological assessment. American Psychologist, 50 (9), 741749.Google Scholar
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. (2010). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. International Journal of Surgery, 8 (5), 336341.Google Scholar
Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. London: MacMillan Press.Google Scholar
Ozawa, A., & Yaeda, J. (2007). Employer attitudes toward employing persons with psychiatric disability in Japan. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 26 (2), 105113.Google Scholar
Palad, Y., Barquia, R., Domingo, H., Flores, C., Padilla, L., & Ramel, J. (2016). Scoping review of instruments measuring attitudes toward disability. Disability and Health Journal, 9 (3), 354374.Google Scholar
Parsons, T. (1951). Illness and the role of the physician: A sociological perspective. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 21 (3), 452460.Google Scholar
Pruett, S., & Chan, F. (2006). The development and psychometric validation of the disability attitude implicit association test. Rehabilitation Psychology, 51 (3), 202213.Google Scholar
Rioux, M., & Patton, L. (2014). Employment equity and disability: Moving forward to achieve employment integration and fulfil promises of inclusion and participation. In Agócs, C. (ed.), Employment Equity in Canada: The Legacy of the Abella Report (pp. 133155). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Schur, L., Kruse, D., & Blanck, P. (2005). Corporate culture and the employment of persons with disabilities. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 23 (1), 320.Google Scholar
Shah, P., & Priestley, M. (2011). Disability and social change. Bristol, UK: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Shakespeare, T. (2014). Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stone, D., & Colella, A. (1996). A model of factors affecting the treatment of disabled individuals in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 21 (2), 352401.Google Scholar
Titchkosky, T. (2001). Disability: A rose by any other name? “People-first” language in Canadian society. The Canadian Review of Sociology, 38 (2), 125140.Google Scholar
Turcotte, M. (2014). Persons with Disabilities and Employment. (Catalogue No. 75-006-X). Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2014001/article/14115-eng.pdfGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Treaty Series, 2515, 3.Google Scholar
Vornholt, K., Uitdewilligen, S., & Nijhuis, J. (2013). Factors affecting the acceptance of people with disabilities at work: A literature review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 23, 463475.Google Scholar
Waltz, C., Strickland, O., & Lenz, E. (2005). Measurement in Nursing and Health Research (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Wiggett-Barnard, C., & Swartz, L. (2012). What facilitates the entry of persons with disabilities into South African companies? Disability and Rehabilitation, 34 (12), 10161023.Google Scholar
Wilson, C., & Scior, K. (2014). Attitudes toward individuals with disabilities as measured by the implicit association test: A literature review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35 (2), 294321.Google Scholar
World Health Organization, (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: ICF Short Version. WHO: Geneva.Google Scholar
Young, M. (1990). Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Yuker, H., Block, J., & Younng, J. (1970). The Measurement of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons. Albertson, NY: Insurance Company of North America.Google Scholar