Societal Attitudes Toward Persons with Disabilities in the Italian Province of Macerata

Persons with disabilities are a marginalized group in most nations. They are often subjected to both subtle prejudice and explicit discrimination. The purpose of the present study was to examine the attitudes of university students toward persons with disabilities. A total of 124 participants were recruited from a public university in Macerata, Italy. The Attitudes to Disability Scale (Power et al., 2010) was used to measure attitudes. The results showed thatalthough many of the participants did not see having a disabled family member as a burden to family, they saw it as a burden to society. Age, major (course), prior contact, and gender were not significant variables in the acceptance of disability. Future directions for research were discussed.