Attitudes of senior psychiatry residents toward persons with intellectual disabilities

This study examined the attitudes of senior residents in psychiatry toward persons with intellectual disabilities. Examining residents' attitudes will highlight areas of training that could be enhanced to better prepare psychiatrists to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities.

A questionnaire was distributed to senior psychiatry residents at a Canada-wide preparatory session for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Included in the questionnaire was the Community Living Attitudes Scale Mental Retardation--Short Form (CLAS) as well as demographic items (for example, age, sex, and marital status) and questions about training in intellectual disabilities. Scores on the 4 CLAS subscales (Empowerment, Similarity, Exclusion, and Sheltering) are reported, and analyses of variance were performed to identify factors associated with each subscale score. The residents' scores are compared with those obtained in surveys of other groups.

Fifty-eight senior residents from across Canada completed the questionnaire. The residents' scores favored Empowerment and Similarity over Exclusion and Sheltering. Men and women responded differently. Training in intellectual disabilities during residency only appeared to influence the Similarity subscale scores.

Senior psychiatry residents hold attitudes toward persons with intellectual disabilities that are not entirely consistent with the community living philosophic paradigm. More research is needed to uncover how attitudes of psychiatrists develop, as well as how training can influence attitudes.