Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Those with Intellectual Disabilities in Romantic Relationships: Impacts of Personhood Perception

Abstract

Recent mixed reports of positive and negative explicit attitudes toward those with intellectual disabilities (ID) have researchers questioning the impacts of socially desirable responding. This justifies the importance of studying implicit attitudes, generally reported as more negative than explicit attitudes. Despite existing literature on implicit attitudes toward those with ID, no studies have assessed implicit attitudes toward mixed-sex couples with ID due to the absence of physical markers that would otherwise aid ID detection. One exception, however, are the distinct facial features existent in people with Down Syndrome (DS), with which implicit attitudes were explored. Personhood perception (i.e., whether those with DS are just as ‘human’ as those without), was also measured, as personhood perception has been suggested to lower as a function of greater ID severity. Thus, the current study investigated differences in implicit and explicit attitudes toward mixed-sex couples with and without DS, impacts of socially desirable responding, and how perceptions of personhood can account for variations in these attitudes. Young adults (N = 261) were recruited and instructed to Implicit Association Test (IAT) that assessed implicit attitudes. Meanwhile, measures of explicit attitudes, socially desirable responding, and personhood perception were assessed through online questionnaires. Results revealed a slight implicit preference for those without DS over those with DS (DIAT = -0.20) and implicit measures depicted more bias than did explicit measures. However, social desirability did not significantly moderate the relationship between explicit and implicit attitudes. Nevertheless, perceptions of personhood were positively correlated with both implicit and explicit attitudes. Results from this study can have important implications for personhood-centered interventions that could aim to empower, reduce stigma, and promote increased autonomy for those with any ID (including DS) wanting to engage in a romantic relationship.