Shifting Student Attitudes Towards Individuals with Disabilities and Previous Incarceration Experience.

Background: Human service professionals and rehabilitation professionals often receive limited training on individuals with disabilities who have been incarcerated, despite the overrepresentation of disability in the criminal legal system. Targeted education that integrates knowledge regarding the c...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 160 - 169
Autores principales: Brehmer, Chelsea E., Weathers Jr., Marcus, Qin, Sang, Walz, Sarah, Brickl, Kaitlyn, Tansey, Timothy
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Sage Publications Inc. Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=192081127&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 192081127
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        10522263
        3O2
      jtl: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
      issn: 10522263
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Mar2026
      vid: 64
      iid: 2
      pid: 344
      pub: Sage Publications Inc.
      place: Thousand Oaks, California
    artinfo:
      ui:
        192081127
        191128529
        192081127
        192081127
        10.1177/10522263251413798
        192081127
      ppf: 160
      ppct: 9
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: Shifting Student Attitudes Towards Individuals with Disabilities and Previous Incarceration Experience.
      aug:
        au:
          Brehmer, Chelsea E.
          Weathers Jr., Marcus
          Qin, Sang
          Walz, Sarah
          Brickl, Kaitlyn
          Tansey, Timothy
        affil: Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Student Attitudes Evaluation
          Attitude to Disability Evaluation
          Persons with Disabilities Psychosocial Factors
          Public Offenders Psychosocial Factors
          Incarceration Psychosocial Factors
          Students, College Psychosocial Factors
          Education, Interdisciplinary
          Criminal Justice Education
          Stigma Prevention and Control
          Intellectual Disability Education
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Young Adult
          Funding Source
          Pretest-Posttest Design
          Confidence
          Mental Health
          Fisher's Exact Test
          Rehabilitation, Psychosocial
          Texas
          Nonexperimental Studies
          Volunteer Workers
          Scales
          Social Isolation Psychosocial Factors
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          T-Tests
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: Human service professionals and rehabilitation professionals often receive limited training on individuals with disabilities who have been incarcerated, despite the overrepresentation of disability in the criminal legal system. Targeted education that integrates knowledge regarding the criminal legal system and disability-related content may better prepare emerging professionals. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether participation in an interdisciplinary course on disability and the criminal legal system led to changes in university students' knowledge, attitudes, and stigmatizing beliefs toward individuals with disabilities who have been previously incarcerated. Method: A pre-post test design was used to assess 56 students across three consecutive semesters, with students completing designated measures at the beginning and end of the course. Paired sample t-tests were used to assess changes over time. Results: Students demonstrated statistically significant increases across all six course outcomes with large effect sizes, as the designated findings indicate positive shifts in student attitudes following course participation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that enrollment in a semester-long interdisciplinary course on disability and the criminal legal system effectively reduced stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs toward individuals who have been incarcerated, as well as improved students' knowledge about culturally-specific issues for members of this population.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N