ATTITUDES TOWARD THE MENTALLY-DISABLED IN A NONWESTERN SOCIETY

In spite of considerable research on attitudes toward mental/physical disability, little research has been carried out in a non-Western soci ety. In particular, little is known about how people in a typically no n-Western country such as Yemen think about people with mental disabil ities. In the present study, the attitudes of 160 Yemeni men (differin g in their level of education) toward the mentally disabled were exami ned. The respondents completed the standardized Arabic version of the Attitude Towards Mentally Handicapped (disabled) Persons (Alkaryoni, 1 988). Looking at individual test items, it appeared that there is gene rally a negative feeling about the mentally disabled. More than 60% of the subjects agreed with the statement that a mentally disabled perso n has an evil soul. The results showed no significant difference in at titudes toward the mentally disabled depending on respondents' level o f education. These findings are discussed and evaluated in relation to studies reported in mainly Western societies.