Attitudes of first and second year student dental hygienists toward the disabled in rural Virginia

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of first and second year dental hygiene students toward the disabled, at one educational site in rural Virginia, using the Dental Students' Attitudes Toward the Handicapped Scale (DSATHS) developed by Lee and Sonis. It was hypothesized that no significant difference would be found between first and second year students.

Of the 35 students surveyed, there was a 100% response rate. The data were analyzed using a t-test to determine if significant differences existed between first and second year students. The criterion for statistical significance was p .05.

There was no significant difference between the first and second year dental hygiene students' attitudes toward the disabled. The results revealed that a majority of first and second year students have a favorable attitude toward the disabled.