THE ATTITUDE OF SECURITY GUARDS TOWARDS DISABLED INDIVIDUALS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION OF TURKEY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Negative social attitudes towards disabled people make it very difficult for disabled people to integrate into society and the acceptance and integration of disabled people into society continues to be limited to negative attitudes encountered outside the home. The aim of this study is to determine security guards' attitudes towards people with disabilities in Turkey. Data were collected from 469 security guards working in the private or public sector using a questionnaire including the Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities Inventory (APDI). The mean (standard deviation) of the APDI is 180.3 (19.1). Positive attitudes are held by more than 98.0% of the research group, both overall and by subcomponents. Security guards with higher levels of education and income had significantly more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities than the others. Acquaintance with a disabled individual is a significant predictor for the competency-independent living subscale (B:2.3, p=0.008). In conclusion, presenting people with disabilities in a realistic way, with their competencies and limitations, is key to developing positive attitudes. In addition, employing individuals with a high level of education in security jobs with appropriate wages can be useful in strategies to develop positive attitudes towards people with disabilities.