The Attitudes of College Students Toward the Physically Handicapped: A Study in Social Distance

The problem of rehabilitation of the physically handicapped in the United States is one of massive proportions. A 1968 survey conducted by the Department of Transportation estimates the number of physically disabled persons in the United States to be approximately 30 million.1 As noted above, physical deviance serves as a basis of social differentiation; and where this differentiation takes on a negative character, the concept of social distance can be useful in measuring the attitudes of physically normal persons in their acceptance or rejection of those who are physically deviant. This study intends to examine the normals\u27 contacts (in their various forms) with disabled persons and the relationship of these contacts to the social distance established between persons who are physically normal and those who are physically deviant. 1. Ruth Lauder, The Goal Is: Mobility! Published for the National Citizens Conference on Rehabilitation of the Disabled and Disadvantaged by the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education & Welfare (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969), p.