Public awareness, attitudes and beliefs regarding intellectual disability: a systematic review

The general public's responses to people with intellectual disabilities influence the likely success or failure of policies aimed at increasing their social inclusion. The present paper provides a review of general population based research into awareness, attitudes and beliefs regarding intellectual disability published in English between 1990 and mid-2011. An electronic search using PsycINFO and Web of Science plus a hand search of the literature was completed. Most of the 75 studies identified consisted of descriptive surveys of attitudes. They tend to conclude that age, educational attainment and prior contact with someone with an intellectual disability predict attitudes, while the effect of gender is inconsistent. Eight studies examined lay knowledge about intellectual disability and beliefs about its causation in a range of cultural contexts. The impact of interventions designed to improve attitudes or awareness was examined by 12 studies. The evidence is limited by the fact that it is mostly based on relatively small unrepresentative samples and cross-sectional designs. It is concluded that overall, high quality research into general population attitudes to intellectual disability is limited. Public knowledge of intellectual disability and causal beliefs are particularly under-researched areas. There is a notable absence of well designed evaluations of efforts to reduce misconceptions about intellectual disability and tackle negative attitudes. Areas for future research are noted, including the need for well designed studies that consider awareness, attitudes and beliefs in relation to stigma theory.