Attitudes Toward Persons With Disabilities Among Community Centers' Management Staff Members: A Brief Report

This study aims to examine the connections between personal demographic characteristics, knowledge about disability, contact with persons with disabilities, and attitudes toward persons with disabilities among Israeli community centers' managerial position holders. The sample consisted of 84 managerial position holders working in different departments at Israeli community centers who completed the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities. A moderate negative connection was found between age and attitudes toward disability. No significant association was found between gender or education level and attitudes toward disability. Participants who personally knew a person with a disability showed more positive attitudes on the cognition dimension than those who have no personal connection to a person with disabilities. A moderate positive connection was found between knowledge about disability issues and attitudes toward those with disabilities. Our research concludes that both personal contact with individuals with disabilities and disability knowledge are associated with positive attitudes toward such individuals. Thus, recommendations were made to develop training for community centers' management and employees to promote more favorable attitudes toward people with disabilities.