ATTITUDES OF NURSING-HOME ADMINISTRATORS AND NURSES TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

This study provides a comparison of attitudes of staff nurses and admi nistrators towards people with disabilities. Findings were derived usi ng a new instrument to measure attitudes of 76 staff nurses and 75 adm inistrators working within nursing home settings in California. Result s demonstrate that scores on the Interaction with Disabled Persons ('' IDP'') Scale differentiated between these professionals with administr ators displaying more positive attitudes. Demographic variables such a s frequency of contact, age, gender and education did not produce sign ificant effects within these groups. Effects on attitudes of type vers us amount of contact with people with disabilities were considered.