Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 1996
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1260282186
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu12602821862021-08-03T05:57:37Z Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn <p>The purpose of this research was to measure attitudes toward the community integration of people with mental retardation. Subjects were homeowners in neighborhoods with residential facilities (group homes) for people with mental retardation and demographically similar neighborhoods without such facilities. A total of 206 homeowners were surveyed using one or two measures. All subjects were asked to complete the Survey of Attitudes toward Disabled People (SADP) (Antonak, 1992), and the attitudes of 161 subjects were also measured using a behavioral measure. The behavioral measure took the form of a petition. One of two petitions was presented. These petitions presented information about wanting to change zoning laws to disallow group homes for people with mental retardation, or keep zoning laws the same, to allow group homes. The subjects response to the petition (signing or not signing) was taken as an indication of attitude toward community integration of people with mental retardation. This method of measuring attitude was devised based on an argument that traditional attitude surveys do not always predict behavior toward the attitude referent. Results suggest that people who live in integrated communities do have a more positive attitude toward community integration than people who live in communities without group homes. Both proximity to a group home and contact with people with mental retardation were found to be important influences on attitude. Another important finding was that the petition was more sensitive to the variables of interest (proximity and contact) than the traditional survey that was used. The survey was also more easily influenced by extraneous variables such as the data collector who presented the information, and the gender and age of the subject. The petition was influenced only by the age of the subject. The results suggest thatdeinstitutionalization has a positive effect on attitude and that more research should be conducted using behavioral measures</p> 1996 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1260282186 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1260282186 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
author Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn
spellingShingle Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn
Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
author_facet Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn
author_sort Zsambok, Jeanie Lynn
title Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
title_short Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
title_full Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
title_fullStr Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
title_full_unstemmed Attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
title_sort attitudes of community residents toward group homes for people with mental retardation in their own neighborhood : measured behaviorally and with surveys
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 1996
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1260282186
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