ATTITUDES TOWARD MENTAL-RETARDATION AND EUGENICS - THE ROLE OF FORMAL EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

In an effort to determine if direct client contact and educational experience could alter attitudes toward mental retardation and eugenics, we completed a pre-test-post-test attitude measure with 37 university-level students enrolled in a 10-week introductory course in the psychology of mental retardation. Results from the psychometrically validated Scale of Attitudes Toward Mental Retardation and Eugenics (Antonak, Fiedler, & Mulick, 1993) indicated that although students reported a significant increase in self-reported knowledge about mental retardation, there was no significant change in eugenics attitude scores. The data suggest that while structured educational experience and direct contact may improve knowledge about mental retardation, it has little influence on fundamental attitudes and beliefs about mental retardation and eugenics.