Attitudes Toward the Mentally Retarded in Selected Communities. Technical Report of Preliminary Findings. Longitudinal Study of the Court-Ordered Deinstitutionalization of Pennhurst

摘要

The report describes the methodology and preliminary findings of a telephone survey of citizens concerning attitudes toward the mentally retarded. As part of the Longitudinal Study of the Court-ordered Deinstitutionalization at Pennhurst a survey was conducted in order to measure baseline attitudes. Eight neighborhoods in which a Community Living Arrangement (CLA) was to house Pennhurst residents were systematically sampled. Measurement included discrete items and an attitude scale with reported internal consistency. A total of 364 interviews were conducted. A second wave of follow-up interviews with the same respondents is anticipated. Instruments are presented as appendices.