Ableism has been defined as “stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and social oppression toward individuals with disabilities.” It is considered to be quite common in society in ways that significantly hinder the health, well-being and quality of life of patients who must cope with the negative effects of being perceived in this manner. As described in a manuscript published in the October 2023 issue of the periodical Disability and Health Journal, ableism not only describes the discrimination that persons with a disability face, but also compulsory able-bodied/mindness, where nondisabled bodies/minds are favored, and all others are marked as deviant. Society, including not only relations between individuals, but also environments, policies, and social practices, is structured accordingly, frequently resulting in various forms of oppression. Thus, in order to reduce ableism, it is critical to conduct research exploring the factors that create, reproduce, and contribute to ableist ideas and actions. The aim of a study described in an article in that journal was to examine the explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) disability attitudes of disability professionals.
Between October 2021 and February 2023, disability professionals (n = 417) completed the Symbolic Ableism Scale (SAS) and the Disability Attitudes Implicit Association Test (DA-IAT). The following research questions were addressed: (1) What are disability professionals' explicit attitudes towards disability? (2) What are disability professionals' implicit attitudes towards disability? (3) What is the relationship between disability professionals' explicit and implicit disability attitudes? and (4) What sociodemographic factors correlate with disability professionals’ explicit and implicit disability attitudes? In the sample, 77.24% of disability professionals explicitly preferred individuals without a disability and 82.03% implicitly. Most commonly, disability professionals were symbolic ableists (37.8%). Race, political orientation, and job type correlated with disability professionals’ explicit attitudes, while disability, gender, and job type correlated with their implicit attitudes. A conclusion of this investigation is that ableism cannot be eradicated until disability professionals look inward and rid themselves of negative attitudes. Until that change occurs, these practitioners will continue to do a disservice to the very patients for whom they are supposed to be furnishing clinical assistance.