It has long been suggested by education and rehabilitation professionals that more positive attitudes about blindness are associated with greater experiences and outcomes for individuals who are blind. This is equally true for the attitudes about blindness held by blind persons themselves as it is about the attitudes towards blindness held by the non-disabled community. This study investigated the attitudes towards blindness of 497 college undergraduate and graduate students, and compared those attitudes with those of 67 blind students of similar age. The results demonstrated support for the notion that greater exposure to persons who are blind yields more positive attitudes about blindness, and that blind students themselves hold more positive attitudes about blindness than do sighted students. Increased support for the efficacy of the Social Responsibility About Blindness Scale (SRBS) was also found.

Keywords

Attitudes about Blindness; Public Attitudes; Measuring Attitudes; College Students; Research