Differences between High School Students Who Do and Do Not Volunteer to Participate in a Peer Interaction Program

Abstract

We examined the differences between two groups of general education high school students: Those who volunteered to participate in a peer buddy program designed to increase their social interactions with their peers with severe disabilities ( n = 30), and those who chose not to volunteer ( n = 30). Differences were examined using the Social Distance Questionnaire for Attitudes of High School Students Toward Handicapped Persons. Analyses indicated that, at pre-test, peer buddies reported significantly greater willingness to interact with people with severe disabilities and more previous contact with these individuals than did nonvolunteers. There were no differences between the scores of the groups on knowledge of disability or affect toward persons with disabilities. After one semester of enrollment in the program, social willingness, knowledge, and contact scores of peer buddies increased significantly, whereas the scores of nonvolunteers remained the same as at the pre-test. In addition, students' self-reported previous contact with individuals with disabilities positively correlated with their scores indicating their social willingness to interact with their peers with disabilities. Implications of the study are discussed with respect to benefits of and recommendations for peer interaction programs.