The multidimensional attitudes scale towards persons with disabilities (MAS) - a Polish adaptation (MAS-PL)

• Published in: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 613 - 620
• Main Authors: Radlińska, Iwona, Starkowska, Anna, Kożybska, Marta, Flaga-Gieruszyńska, Kinga, Karakiewicz, Beata
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland Institute of Rural Health 22.12.2020
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude; Attitudes; Autism; Cognitive ability; Disabilities; disability; Disabled Persons - psychology; Factor analysis; Female; Humans; Male; measurement scale; People with disabilities; Poland; Psychometrics; Social policy; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult; Poland; Disability; measurement scale; attitudes
• ISSN: 1232-1966; 1898-2263
• DOI: 10.26444/aaem/114531

The aim of this study was to create a Polish adaptation of the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) by performing a statistical psychometric analysis in a sample of Polish students. The study included 540 person (82.0% of students and 18.0% of workers), whose attitudes towards the disabled were measured with the Polish version of the MAS (MAS-PL). Mean age of respondents was 24.72 years (SD = 5.7), with a significant majority of women (n = 455, 84.3%). Data was collected during university classes and via an online survey. Factor analysis yielded a three-factor structure of the MAS-PL, including affective, cognitive, and behavioural domains, which explained almost 45% of the total variance. Further factor-based solutions increased this percentage only slightly (0.8). The Polish version of the MAS scale (MAS-PL) has been developed and presented as a reliable instrument for studying the attitudes of Poles towards people with disabilities. The scale can be used as a preliminary assessment tool when creating educational programmes, including those for training and social Policy, as well as assessing the effectiveness of programmes. Studies with the use of the MAS-PL will allow comparisons of research findings conducted with the use of MAS scales in other English-speaking (original/English MAS) or Spanish-speaking (Spanish MAS) populations and German (G-MAS), Korean (MAS-K), Serbian (Serbian MAS), Turkish (Turkish MAS) and French populations (French MAS autism).