Perceived Social Stigma among Students with Intellectual Disability and its Relationship to some Variables

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor of Special Education, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Egypt College of Education, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic, University (IMSIU), KSA

2 Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Women for Art, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Abstract

In light of existing research and studies, it appears that the feeling of perceived social stigma among students with Intellectual Disability (ID) themselves has rarely been examined. Accordingly, the goal of this research was to explore the level of perceived social stigma among students with ID, considering the variables of gender (males vs. females) and school stage (primary vs. preparatory). To achieve this, the researchers developed a scale specifically designed to measure the perceived social stigma experienced by individuals with ID. The study sample consisted of 102 students with mild ID: 48 in the primary stage and 54 in the preparatory stage. Their chronological ages ranged from 11 to 13 years in the primary stage (mean age = 11.90 years, SD = 0.75), including 23 males and 25 females. In the preparatory stage, ages ranged from 14 to 17 years (mean age = 14.09 years, SD = 0.77), comprising 24 males and 30 females. A comparative descriptive method was employed. The results indicated that the overall level of perceived social stigma among the participants was not high (across dimensions and total score). However, the findings revealed a higher level of perceived social stigma among male students compared to female students (across dimensions and total score). Furthermore, there were no significant differences between primary and preparatory school students in perceived social stigma between students in the primary and preparatory stages.
In light of existing research and studies, it appears that the feeling of perceived social stigma among students with Intellectual Disability (ID) themselves has rarely been examined. Accordingly, the goal of this research was to explore the level of perceived social stigma among students with ID, considering the variables of gender (males vs. females) and school stage (primary vs. preparatory). To achieve this, the researchers developed a scale specifically designed to measure the perceived social stigma experienced by individuals with ID. The study sample consisted of 102 students with mild ID: 48 in the primary stage and 54 in the preparatory stage. Their chronological ages ranged from 11 to 13 years in the primary stage (mean age = 11.90 years, SD = 0.75), including 23 males and 25 females. In the preparatory stage, ages ranged from 14 to 17 years (mean age = 14.09 years, SD = 0.77), comprising 24 males and 30 females. A comparative descriptive method was employed. The results indicated that the overall level of perceived social stigma among the participants was not high (across dimensions and total score). However, the findings revealed a higher level of perceived social stigma among male students compared to female students (across dimensions and total score). Furthermore, there were no significant differences between primary and preparatory school students in perceived social stigma between students in the primary and preparatory stages.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ali, A., King, M., Strydom, A., & Hassiotis, A. (2015,a). Self-reported stigma and symptoms of anxiety and depression in people with intellectual disabilities: Findings from a cross sectional study in England. Journal of affective disorders, 187, 224-231.‏
Ali, A., King, M., Strydom, A., & Hassiotis, A. (2016). Self-reported stigma and its association with socio-demographic factors and physical disability in people with intellectual disabilities: results from a cross-sectional study in England. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 51, 465-474.‏
Ali, A., Kock, E., Molteno, C., Mfiki, N., King, M., & Strydom, A. (2015,b). Ethnicity and self‐reported experiences of stigma in adults with intellectual disability in C ape T own, S outh A frica. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59(6), 530-540.‏
Ali, A., Strydom, A., Hassiotis, A., Williams, R., & King, M. (2008). A measure of perceived stigma in people with intellectual disability. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 193(5), 410-415.‏
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical    Manual of Mental Disorders, (5th). Washington, DC.
Anderson, S., & Bigby, C. (2017). Self‐advocacy as a means to positive identities for people with intellectual disability: 'We just help them, be them really’. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(1), 109-120.‏
Bhattacharya, C., Kumar, S., Sinha, A. K., Ahmad, P., Ahmad, S., S., Singh, H., & Ahmad, A. (2025). Assessment of Stigma among Caregivers of Armed Forces Professionals Suffering from Mental Illness. Journal of Marine Medical Society, 27(1), 76-82.‏
Boot, F. H., Ghosh, R., Dinsmore, J. G., & MacLachlan, M. (2021). Views and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities to improve access to assistive technology: perspectives from India. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 31(4), 40-65.‏
Brown, M., & Marsh, L. (2018). Adults with intellectual disabilities experience shame that leads to psychological distress and mental illness that requires assessment and treatment. Evidence-Based Nursing, 21(3), 86-86.‏
Colman, S. (2018). Measuring and conceptualising self-stigmatisation and associated factors in people with intellectual disabilities (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London).‏
DeLappe, J. (2016). 'Staff would be whispering': Exploring employment related stigma experienced by women with intellectual disabilities in Ireland (Doctoral dissertation, University of Limerick).‏
Devkota, H. R., Poudel, S., Shrestha, M. K., Oli, R. U., Rai, N. K., Poudel, M., ... & Gurung, R. (2024). Examining the association between perceived stigma, its correlates, and restrictions in participation among persons with disabilities in Nepal: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1176.‏
Dinos, S. (2014). Stigma creating stigma: a vicious circle. The Psychiatric Bulletin, 38(4), 145-147.‏
Gill, C. J., Mukherjee, S. S., Garland-Thomson, R., & Mukherjee, D. (2016). Disability stigma in rehabilitation. Pm&r, 8(10), 997-1003.‏
Goldsmith-Sumner, A. (2021). Development of a tool to assess how people with intellectual disabilities respond to stigma (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London).‏
Handoyo, R. T. (2019). A multimethod exploration of stigma towards people with intellectual disability in Indonesia, Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)).‏
Handoyo, R., Ali, A., Scior, K., & Hassiotis, A. (2022). A qualitative exploration of stigma experience and inclusion among adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability in an Indonesian context. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 26(2), 293-306.‏
Heitplatz, V. N., Bühler, C., & Hastall, M. R. (2020, July). I can’t do it, they say!–Perceived stigmatization experiences of people with intellectual disabilities when using and accessing the Internet. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 390-408). Cham: Springer International Publishing.‏
Jansen-van Vuuren, J., & Aldersey, H. M. (2020). Stigma, acceptance and belonging for people with IDD across cultures. Current developmental disorders reports, 7, 163-172.‏
Khuen Lim, P., Hankir, A., & Zaman, R. (2021). Innovative interventions to reduce the stigma attached to intellectual disabilities: A narrative review. Psychiatria Danubina, 33(suppl 11), 74-78.‏
Llewellyn, G., Vaughan, C., & Emerson, E. (2015). Discrimination and the health of people with intellectual disabilities. In International review of research in developmental disabilities (Vol. 48, pp. 43-72). Academic Press.‏
Logeswaran, S., Hollett, M., Zala, S., Richardson, L., & Scior, K. (2019). How do people with intellectual disabilities construct their social identity? A review. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(3), 533-542.‏
Monteleone, R., & Forrester‐Jones, R. (2017). ‘Disability means, um, dysfunctioning people’: a qualitative analysis of the meaning and experience of disability among adults with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(2), 301-315.‏
O’Byrne, C., & Muldoon, O. (2017). Stigma, self-perception and social comparisons in young people with an intellectual disability. Irish Educational Studies, 36(3), 307-322.‏
O'Byrne, C. (2019). Being special: intellectual disability, stigma and special schools (Doctoral dissertation, University of Limerick).‏
Odukoya, D., Chege, W., & Scior, K. (2024). The effect of an e-intervention on intellectual disability stigma among Nigerian and Kenyan internet users: a comparative randomised controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1331107.‏
Paterson, L., McKenzie, K., & Lindsay, B. (2012). Stigma, social comparison and self‐esteem in adults with an intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 25(2), 166-176.‏
Pelleboer-Gunnink, H. A., Van Weeghel, J., & Embregts, P. J. (2021). Public stigmatisation of people with intellectual disabilities: a mixed-method population survey into stereotypes and their relationship with familiarity and discrimination. Disability and rehabilitation, 43(4), 489-497.‏
Rasdale, A. R., Warman, D. M., & Phalen, P. L. (2018). An examination of perceptions of individuals with an intellectual disability, with and without co‐morbid schizophrenia: effects of labels on stigma. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 62(6), 544-556.‏
Röhm, A., Grengel, M., Möhring, M., Zensen-Möhring, J., Nellen, C., & Hastall, M. R. (2022). Applying the mixed-blessings model and labeling theory to stigma in inclusive education: An experimental study of student and trainee teachers’ perceptions of pupils with ADHD, DLD, and intellectual disability. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 910702.‏
 
Sarras, N. (2021). Examining the stigma-resistance process in adult self-advocates with intellectual disabilities (Doctoral dissertation, UCL, University College London).‏
Septian, E. R., & Hadi, E. N. (2021). Reducing stigma of people with disabilities: A systematic review. Journal of Medical and Health Studies, 2(2), 31-37.‏
Smythe, T., Adelson, J. D., & Polack, S. (2020). Systematic review of interventions for reducing stigma experienced by children with disabilities and their families in low‐and middle‐income countries: State of the evidence. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 25(5), 508-524.‏
Sory, C. I., Cissé, K., Millogo, T., Dahourou, D. L., Ouedraogo, H. G., & Kouanda, S. (2022). Prevalence and factors associated with stigma among people with disabilities in Niger in 2018: a multi-level analysis. AIDS care, 34(sup1), 65-70.‏
Strnadová, I., Loblinzk, J., Scully, J. L., Danker, J., Tso, M., Jackaman, K. M., ... & Palmer, E. E. (2023). “I am not a number!” Opinions and preferences of people with intellectual disability about genetic healthcare. European Journal of Human Genetics, 31(9), 1057-1065.‏
Tenorio, M., Arango, P., Aparicio, A., Reyes, C., Ali, A., & Hassiotis, A. (2024). Self‐perceived stigma in Chilean adolescents with intellectual disability. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 21(2), e12510.
Viteva, E., & Semerdjieva, M. (2015). Enacted stigma among patients with epilepsy and intellectual impairment. Epilepsy & Behavior, 42, 66-70.‏
Ward, B., Weatherhead, S., & Greenhill, B. (2025). “They Don't Understand People With Learning Disabilities”: Exploring the Experiences of People With Intellectual Disabilities Undergoing Welfare Assessments. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 38(1), e70000.‏
Wood, I. E. (2022). A Comparison of Stigma Levels for Individuals with Psychological Disorders and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.‏ Ouachita Baptist University
Zamorano, S., Santos‐Olmo, A. B., Sánchez‐Iglesias, I., Muñoz‐Lara, I., & Muñoz, M. (2024). The stigma of intellectual disability in Spain: a nationally representative survey. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 68(5), 477-490.‏

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics