Racial identity and disability: the perception of the "other" in a group of Italian school teachers

Racial identity and disability are separate issues, but both contribute to the multiple social identities. This study compares attitudes towards an ethnic group and a non ethnic group with physical psychic disabilities. The research involves 167 support teachers, completing: Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale an ad Hoc questionnaire to investigate knowledge and prejudice towards disability. Results show that individuals with an high ethnocentrism and reaction out-groups express refusal for disability. In school in which social adaptation is considered a priority, it is possible to compare the racial difficulties to those of disabled people. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.