The Social Distance of the Exceptional: A Study at the High School Level

Abstract

One hundred eighty-six high school students (grades 9 to 12) in a small midwestern town completed a paired comparisons questionnaire involving twelve exceptionalities and seven interpersonal dimensions. The exceptionalities were ordered from most to least acceptable on each dimension using the paired comparisons procedure. The results revealed that acceptance of certain exceptionalities was sometimes related to interpersonal situations, although most frequently the severely mentally retarded anchored the unfavorable end of the acceptance continuum, and the gifted anchored the favorable end. Exceptionalities reflecting mild handicaps (hard of hearing, partially seeing) were most often near the favorable end of the acceptance continuum.