Faculty religiosity and attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

Abstract

Previous research suggests that religiosity may influence attitudes towards outgroups. The present study investigated the effects of faculty religiosity on attitudes towards persons with disabilities at large, faith-based private university in the southwest United States. The central research question of the study was, "How does a faculty member’s religiosity affect their attitudes towards persons with disabilities?" Participants (N = 79) responded to an online survey that included the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons scale (Form O) and a self-reported measure of general religiosity. A polychoric correlation was used to examine the relationship between faculty religiosity and attitudes towards people with disabilities. The analysis did not find a significant relationship at the α = .05 confidence level. ANOVAs were conducted to examine interactions between gender, age, academic discipline, and income level.