Attitudes toward people with disabilities caused by illness or injury: beyond physical impairment

This study examined differences in attitudes toward and reactions to individuals with comparable disabilities caused by injury or illness. Participants were students and healthcare professionals randomly assigned to read one of eight vignettes constructed in a between-subjects, full-factorial design: 2 (illness/injury) x 2 (male/female) x 2 (visible/not visible). Participants completed questionnaires measuring reactions to the target person and attitudes toward people with disabilities. We found that both students and healthcare professionals expressed more positive attitudes toward persons with injury-related compared with illness-related disabilities, but that these differences were typically not expressed in reported social encounters with individual disabled persons. The effects of the illness-injury distinction were moderated by sex only among students, with the highest distancing reported from a female with an illness-related disability. Visibility of the disability triggered more social distancing among students, regardless of the injury-illness distinction. We concluded that the illness-injury distinction is a socially and psychologically significant factor.