Social representations of intellectual disability; a comparison between cultures

Abstract

Objectives: People with Intellectual disability consistently appear to be one of the most looked-down upon and repressed subgroups of society in many cultures. The main aim of this study was to compare social representations of intellectual disability in its various aspects between different cultures.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted in four different sites: Beirut-Lebanon, Algiers-Algeria, Tours-France and Namur-Belgium. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating social representations of intellectual disability.

Results: A total of 755 participants consented to take part in the study. Gender only affected social representations in the Lebanese population. Overall, Algerians appeared to have the least positive social representations and Lebanon to have more positive attitudes, while France and Belgium tended to have the most favourable representations.

Discussion and conclusions: Findings highlight the imbalance between a European and a non-European country showing the importance of developing tailored interventions to improve general attitudes towards intellectual disability.

Keywords: Culture; Intellectual disability; Social representation; Stigma; culture; déficience intellectuelle; représentation sociale; stigmates.