کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
902901 | 1472819 | 2013 | 9 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
• Facial differences adversely affect how a child is perceived by other children.
• Older age and prior contact with facial differences lessen negative attitudes.
• Public interventions are needed to reduce negative attitudes about disfigurement.
Children with a facial difference are presumed to be at risk of social stigmatization. The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to assess the effect of facial differences on social perceptions by unaffected children and adolescents; and (2) to identify perceiver characteristics that predict stereotypical attitudes toward facial differences. Participants were 344 non-affected children and adolescents, ages 8–17 years. Participants rated digitally altered images of 12 children depicted either with or without a facial difference. Results show that participants attributed less favorable characteristics to children with a facial difference than to those without. Moreover, participants reported less willingness to interact with or befriend a child with a facial difference. Significant predictors of low discriminative attitudes were older participant age and previous contact with someone with a facial difference. Our data call attention to the need for public education programs targeted at reducing negative attitudes toward facial differences.
Journal: Body Image - Volume 10, Issue 4, September 2013, Pages 515–523