Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale

A standardized 20-item attitudinal instrument developed by Gething and Wheeler (1992) and later validated by Forlin, Fogarty, and Caroll (1999), designed to measure both desirable and undesirable emotions that people experience when interacting with individuals who have disabilities. Respondents rate statements on a 6-point Likert scale, and factor analysis has shown responses load onto six subscales: Discomfort, Sympathy, Uncertainty, Fear, Coping, and Vulnerability. The IDP is used in accessibility and disability studies research to assess changes in attitudes resulting from interventions such as education, contact with disabled people, or training. Researchers have noted that the instrument, developed in 1999, may reflect language and framing that is dated relative to current disability discourse.