Students' attitudes towards the approaches to people with disabilities and the level of empathy - the role of the study program

Osobe s invaliditetom predstavljaju posebno ranjivu društvenu skupinu s obzirom da njihova razina oštećenja kao i stavovi i predrasude društva mogu negativno utjecati na njihovu dobrobit. Prema tome, istraživanja stavova prema osobama s invaliditetom kao i konstrukata za koje se pokazalo da su povezani sa stavovima prema ovoj skupini, poput empatije i prirode studijskog programa, mogu pružiti uvid u percepciju društva prema ovoj društvenoj skupini. Tri su pristupa osobama s invaliditetom koji odražavaju stavove uzete u obzir – model suosjećanja prema kojem su osobe s invaliditetom žrtve svojih okolnosti, medicinski model prema kojem je invaliditet nešto urođeno i abnormalno te društveni model ljudskih prava koji naglašava potrebu stvaranja inkluzivnijeg društva. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati razlike u stavovima studenata prema teorijskim pristupima osobama s invaliditetom uz utvrđivanje razlika u razini empatije između studenata pomažućih i nepomažućih zanimanja i razlika u razini empatije s obzirom na slaganje s odgovarajućim pristupom osobama s invaliditetom. Istraživanje je provedeno putem online anketnog upitnika na prigodnom uzorku od 103 studenta Sveučilišta u Zadru pri čemu je bilo 65 studenata pomažućih i 38 studenta nepomažućih zanimanja. Sudionici su izražavali vlastito slaganje s jednom od tri tvrdnje pristupa osobama s invaliditetom kao mjera stavova te su ispunjavali skalu emocionalne empatije. Pokazalo se kako se s društvenim modelom ljudskih prava slaže 84.6% studenata pomažućih zanimanja i 81.6% studenata nepomažućih zanimanja. S tvrdnjom koja opisuje model suosjećanja složilo se 9.2% studenata pomažućih zanimanja i 10.5% studenata nepomažućih zanimanja. Konačno, 6.2% studenata pomažućih zanimanja se slaže s medicinski modelom i 7.9% studenata nepomažućih zanimanja. Nadalje, suprotno postavljenoj hipotezi, nije utvrđena razlika u razini empatije između studenata studijskih programa usmjerenih na pomažuća zanimanja i onih usmjerenih na nepomažuća zanimanja. Konačno, nije bilo razlike u razini empatije sudionika s obzirom na pristup osobama s invaliditetom s kojim su se složili unatoč očekivanim razlikama.People with disabilities represent a particularly vulnerable social group, given that their level of impairment as well as the attitudes and prejudices of society can negatively affect their well-being. Therefore, research on attitudes towards people with disabilities as well as constructs that have been shown to be related to attitudes towards this group, such as empathy and the nature of the study program, can provide insight into society's perception of this social group. The three approaches to disabled people that reflect attitudes were considered – the compassion model according to which disabled people are victims of their circumstances, the medical model according to which disability is something innate and abnormal, and the social model of human rights that emphasizes the need to create a more inclusive society. The aim of this research was to examine the differences in students' attitudes towards the theoretical approaches to people with disabilities, while determining differences in the level of empathy between students of helping and non-helping professions and differences in the level of empathy regarding agreement with the appropriate approach to people with disabilities. The research was conducted through an online questionnaire on a convenient sample of 103 students at the University of Zadar, of which 65 were students in helping professions and 38 were students in non-helping professions. Participants expressed their own agreement with one of the three core statements of the approaches to persons with disabilities as a measure of attitudes and completed the emotional empathy scale. It was shown that 84.6% of students in helping professions and 81.6% of students in non-helping professions agree with the social model of human rights. 9.2% of students of helping professions and 10.5% of students of nonhelping professions agreed with the statement describing the compassion model. Finally, 6.2% of students of helping professions agree with the medical model and 7.9% of students of non-helping professions. Furthermore, contrary to the hypothesis, no difference was found in the level of empathy between students of study programs focused on helping professions and those focused on non-helping professions. Finally, there was no difference in participants' level of empathy regarding the approach to people with disabilities they agreed with despite the expected differences