Determination of the effect of gender perception among university students on attitudes towards disabled women

Introduction and aim. This study investigates the effect of gender perception among university students on attitudes towards disabled women. Material and methods. The target population of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consisted of university students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences in a province located in southern Türkiye. The Socio-demographic Form, the Gender Perception Scale, and the Attitudes towards Disabled Women Scale were administered to the participants through Google Forms. The sample of the study consisted of 644 students registered at the Faculty of Health Sciences and meeting the inclusion criteria. Results. A positive and moderately significant correlation was found between gender perception and attitudes towards disabled women among students who were enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences. The variables explaining 26.3% of the total variance for the attitudes towards disabled women included the presence of a disabled individual in the family, education of disabled individuals together with individuals with no disabilities, views about the marriage of disabled women, kinship with the disabled relative, and gender perception scale score. Conclusion. It was concluded that gender perception had a significant effect on the attitudes of students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences towards disabled women.