Implicit bias toward people with disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Science
• Disability Studies

Background:

• People with disabilities (PWD) face significant barriers to accessibility and employment, impacting their quality of life.
• Existing strategies have not improved key statistics like unemployment rates for PWD.
• Previous research on explicit attitudes toward PWD yielded positive results, necessitating an investigation into implicit bias.

Approach:

• A systematic review and meta-analysis of 46 peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and April 2020.
• Utilized the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit bias toward PWD.
• Included 12 studies that met the criteria for meta-analysis.

Key Points:

• A significant moderate pooled effect indicated negative implicit attitudes toward general disability.
• Negative implicit attitudes were also observed toward physical and intellectual disabilities.
• PWD were stereotyped as incompetent, cold, and "child-like" in implicit associations.

Conclusions:

• The review identified moderate negative implicit biases toward PWD, but associated factors remain unclear.
• Further research is recommended to explore implicit bias in specific disability groups.
• Investigating strategies to mitigate implicit bias toward PWD is crucial.