Changing young people's perceptions of mentally handicapped adults

A representative sample of 420, 15- and 16-year old students, participated in a short educational programme about mental handicap; the main feature of which was a well-structured contact session with a group of mentally handicapped adults. This lasted 40 min and took place in the students' school. Various control procedures ascertained that the programme was effective at increasing their confidence in meeting mentally handicapped people and in their knowledge of the causes of mental handicap. Moreover the majority of students voluntarily visited a local mental handicap centre and a proportion maintained regular contact. These findings were replicated in a second study involving a further 368 students but this time the programme was presented by teachers and/or personnel from a local mental handicap service. The salient features of the contact sessions are discussed and directions for future research noted, particularly explicit guidance for adolescents on interacting with atypical peers.