It is theorized that women tend to have a more positive attitude toward disabled individuals than men due to having more opportunities to interact with them. This is explained by women being more likely to choose a human services profession. This effect further illustrates the effect an individuals contact with the disabled impacts their attitude.  

Theory on Cause of Disability Attitudes Gender Disparity  

A individual who has a disabled friend, family member, or colleague, along with length and frequency of contact with the disabled was found to be more likely to be accepting toward disabled individuals.

Pepperdine University

The positive or negative response of individuals towards the disabled make up the public attitude and response toward disability. It has been shown there are four main determinates of whether or not a individual's response to disability is positive or negative to the disabled community within the wider culture.  Those factors are: 

- Knowledge/familiarity with the Disabled
- Contact with the Disabled
- Gender of the individual 
- Education Level

Determinates of Public Attitudes Toward Disability

Wang, Z., Xu, X., Han, Q. et al. Factors associated with public attitudes towards persons with disabilities: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 21, 1058 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11139-3

Factors associated with public attitudes towards persons with disabilities: a systematic review

Several studies have indicated than gender impacts the likelihood of an individual's response to the disabled to be positive or negative. They indicate that women tend to have more positive reactions toward disabled than men. 

Gender's Impact on Attitudes Toward Disability

There was a strong correlation found across several studies between education level and positive attitude toward disability. Higher educated individuals tend to be more liberal who in turn tend to be higher in the personality trait openness. Individuals high in this trait tend to be more accepting of those more different from themselves and this is theorized to account for education level's impact on attitudes toward disability.

Education Level's Impact of Attitudes Toward the Disabled

Contact and Familiarity with Disabled Individual's Impact on Public Attitudes 

Having previous knowledge on disability positively impacts one's opinion of the disabled.  

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