1. “I have encountered countless examples of stigma, especially in mental health. Black men are more likely to be sectioned, less talking therapy, more medications is the approach.” Mental Health Occupational Therapist

2. Objectives:
AIM:
TO INVESTIGATE THE LINK BETWEEN STUDENTS’ AGE AND PERCEPTION OF DISABILITY.
COLLECT PRIMARY DATA FROM TWO AGE GROUPS OF STUDENTS (18-24) and (25-46) ON DISABILITY PERCEPTION
COLLECT SECONDARY DATA ON DISABILITY ATTITUDES
SYNTHESISE DATA = CORRELATION BETWEEN VARIABLES.

3. PURPOSE TO EVALUATE RESOURCES SPENT TO EDUCATE LEARNERS ON VALUES
STIGMA/DISCRIMINATION ANXIETY/DEPRESSION FURTHER STRAIN ON NHS RESOURCES = FINANCIAL IMPORTANCE
TO ILLUSTRATE THE IMPACT OF AGE ON STUDENT’S LEVELS OF STIGMA
AN INSIGHT ON THE LEVELS OF NEGATIVE DISCRIMINATION DISPLAYED BY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

4. HYPOTHESES ALTERNATIVE NULL
OLDER LEARNERS WILL SHOW HIGHER DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION THAN YOUNGER LEARNERS.
NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION BY OLDER COMPARED TO YOUNGER LEARNERS.

5. SECONDARY SOURCEs Book, “Sociology and Occupational Therapy"
Journal, “Developmental Differences in Reactions to the Physically Disabled"
Scope.Org, “Current Attitudes Towards Disabled People"
Journal “Past and Present Perceptions towards Disability“
Government publication, British Social Attitudes

6. primary sources
- 40 questionnaires in total, 20 for younger, 20 for older students
- Age and gender questions + 7 multiple choice questions + 5 picture for free association

7. Practical CONSIDERATIONS
Time: Timescale considers FS, assessments, deadlines.
Contacting: each class direct session for validity: face to face identifies attitudes/feelings.
INITIAL CONSIDERATION: No participants from health courses →expectation: stigma minimal in health.

8. Ethical considerations
Young learners –materials not too graphic, no nudity, over 18s.
BPS principles applied.
No specific groups mentioned.
Precise secondary sources counteract artefacts.
List of useful numbers.

9. Results
RESULTS: bar charts for the multiple choice questions and a grid for the free association responses
Secondary sources corroborated my primary sources
My alternative hypothesis held
The older you are, the more likely you are to discriminate towards disability
A career aspiration is less of a predictor of stigma than age is

10. conclusion Concepts of stigma and of free association
Some questions were asked in 2014 by the British Social Attitudes Survey, but the participants of my survey were students, a research with a focus on age-related differences + new free association method
Assumption: reform on disability, the role of media and mainstreaming allowed for the result (younger learners have not witnessed the conditions before) – increased social awareness
Knowledge of world events
Wolfensberger (2003) the power of negative labels and self-fulfilling prophecies – again, older people perhaps witnessed more of this
Equality Act (2010) – covert discrimination as a consequence + social desirability bias (biases and artefacts in population data)

11. REFERENCES
Current attitudes towards disabled people (2014) Available at: disabled-people.pdf (Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Munyi, C.W. (2012) ‘Past and present perceptions towards disability: A historical perspective’, Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(2)
Rand Corporation Available at: (Accessed: 3 February 2017).
Ryan, K. M. (1981) ‘Developmental Differences in Reactions to the Physically Disabled’, Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers, Available at: (Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Sample chapter for Merini, A.; Stewart, S., trans.: Love lessons: Selected poems of Alda Merini (2009) Available at: (Accessed: 3 February 2017).
Staniland, L. (2011) ‘Public perceptions of disabled people’, British social attitudes survey 2009, Available at: (Accessed: 20 January 2017).
Townsend, E. (2003) Sociology and occupational therapy: An integrated approach. Edited by Derek Jones, Sheena E. E. Blair, Terry Hartery, and Kenneth R. Jones. 2nd edn. Eastbourne: Churchill Livingstone.
Welcome to mental health support Available at: (Accessed: 3 February 2017).