Attitudes towards Physical Disability in Jordan

Introduction: In the past, the disabled were often neglected and ignored. These attitudes are changing and a lot of research has been done to investigate factors contributing to the formation of attitudes.Objective: To answer the following questions:1-What are the attitudes of the people in this sample?2-Do people with positive feelings show positive behavior towards the disabled?Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of a self-administered questionnaire. It contained details such as: age, sex, and level of education. The second part contained statements concerned with behavior as well as statements concerned with feelings towards the disabled.Main Results: Females scored better for both behavior and attitudes towards the disabled. There were significant differences in attitude according to age, with the best attitude depicted in the age group of 18¬25 years old. There were significant differences in behavior and attitude according to the level of education. The best results were amongst PhD holders. There was positive behavior and positive attitude towards the disabled but people with positive attitude did not necessarily show positive behavior towards the disabled.Conclusion: Further studies are needed to understand the relationship between the society and the disabled.