Predicators of Attitudes Towards Persons with Developmental Disabilities Among Arab Americans: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Purpose: Attitudes towards persons with disabilities vary greatly from culture to culture, and values associated with disabilities differ both geographically and historically. Over the past two decades, several studies have focused on attitudes toward people with disabilities by sampling diverse racial and ethnic groups (e.g., African Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, and Native Americans). The attitudes of the Arab Americans have not been examined; thus, their attitudes remain largely unknown. Although more than 3.7 million Americans of Arab descent live in the United States, their attitudes have been understudied with the exception of a handful of studies conducted in some Arab countries.

Method: To obtain a national sample (N=372) of self-identified Arab Americans for this cross-sectional study, a convenient sampling strategy was used. Participants, who were recruited from more than 22 not-for-profit Arab organizations, completed an online self-administered (Qualtrics) survey. In addition to demographic items, the self-report survey included measures of attitudes, which were based upon three validated measures: Vancouver Index of Acculturation-Modified Arab Version (VIA-A; Amer, 2005), Contact with Disabled Persons (CDP) scale (Yuker & Hurley, 1987), and Scale of Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (SADP; Antonak & Livneh, 1989). Data were analyzed using both bivariate and multivariate techniques including Pearson’s r correlation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Hierarchical regression analysis.

Results: The results provide evidence to support strong relationships between some sociodemographic characteristics such as people who identify strongly with mainstream American culture, and who have general, and positive contacts were significantly correlated with favorable attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Overall, the hierarchical regression model shows more favorable overall attitudes of Arab Americans toward persons with developmental disabilities are accounted by length of stay in US (β = -.30; t = -5.856, p < .05), being Christian (β = .12; t = 2.314, p < .05), mainstream identification with American culture (β = -.25; t = -4.772, p < .05), and positive contact (β = -.20; t = -4.075, p <.05). These four variables accounted for 9% (R = .30), 1% (R = .32), 6% (R = .40), and 4% (R = .44) of the variance in attitudes respectively. Thus, 80% of variance in overall levels of attitudes is unaccounted and creates an opportunity for future research.

Implications: The results highlight the importance of understanding the attitudes toward persons with disabilities when assessing sociodemographic characteristics, social contacts, and acculturation patterns in the US among minorities, particularly when working with Arab American community. Given the empirical results of the study, practitioners might incorporate more in depth of knowledge base about the distinct Arab culture in order to enhance their cultural competency in working with Arab clients. Finally, the study will raise the awareness about stigma toward the persons with developmental disabilities in the Arab culture and factors that influence their attitudes toward this vulnerable group.