Study on Attitudes of Occupational Therapy Students Toward Disabled Individuals

The object of this study is to explore the attitudes of occupational therapy students and "general students" (who study in different areas other than occupational therapy) towards people with disabilities, and to examine the causing factors of positive and negative attitudes toward people with disabilities by using Disability Factor Scales (DFS). According to the result of the study using the Disability Factor Scales (DFS), it indicates that the attitudes of the occupational therapy students were more positive than those of "general students" from other departments. In the case of score differences among occupational therapy students by class standing, seniors who experienced clinical practice showed a less favorable attitude toward the disabled than freshmen, so it is necessary to develop clinical practice and an occupational therapy curricula that incorporate patient-centered treatment rather than therapist-centered education with simple physical contact or illness problems.