Social distance, stereotypical beliefs and emotions towards people with disabilities in Mexican university students: differences by sex

This work aims to establish the differences between emotions, stereotypical beliefs and behavioral intention, as components of attitudes towards people with disabilities, in men and women. Participants were 564 Mexican university students, 270 women and 292 men. The Stereotypical Belief Scale for Persons with Disabilities, the Emotion Scale for Persons with Disabilities and the Bogardus Social Distance Scale were administered. The main results show, in men, the presence of negative stereotypical beliefs and a behavioral intention to exclusion. In the case of women, the expression of more positive emotions and willingness to live with people who live with disabilities is evident. In the discussion of results the construction of gender becomes relevant and action lines are proposed to advance in the construction of university communities with more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and towards inclusion.