Attitudes of Students with Mental Retardation toward Their Handicapped and Non-Handicapped Peers

Abstract

Despite the large number of studies examining attitudes of non-handicapped students toward students who are mentally handicapped, the attitudes of the students who are handicapped themselves toward their peers are rarely addressed. This study examined the attitudes of students with mental retardation toward their peers who are mentally handicapped and non-handicapped at the elementary, junior, and senior high levels using two separate measures of attitude. Results indicated that students with mental retardation do not express significantly different attitudes toward either peer group. However, elementary aged students were found to hold more negative attitudes toward peers both mentally handicapped and non-handicapped than either junior or senior high aged students. The absence of more negative attitudes toward students with mental retardation was interpreted as suggesting that these students may not internalize the expressed negative attitudes of the non-handicapped.