ABSTRACT
Background: Disability has often been accompanied by sociocultural stigmas that led to the marginalization and exclusion of persons living with disabilities. There is an increase in societal progress in recognizing the rights of persons living with disabilities (PWDs), however, negative attitudes and misconceptions persist, hindering their social inclusion and opportunities for academic and professional advancement. Aim: This study aimed to ascertain the level of knowledge, perception and attitude of undergraduates of University of Benin towards persons living with disability. Method: This was a cross sectional study design, with four hundred (400) undergraduates of University of Benin who were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. A selfadministered questionnaire which measures the Knowledge, Perception and Attitude of Physically Disabled People (KAPPDP) was adopted and used for this study. Respondents who provided consent were briefed on the study's procedure before data collection commenced. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages and mean and inferential statistics of Chi square was used to determine relationship between KAPPDP and sociodemographic variable with P < 0.05. Results: Three hundred and twenty-eight (82.0%) of the respondents had a moderate level of knowledge regarding disability, 304 (76.0%) had a high perception towards PWDs and 370 (92.5%) had a negative attitude towards PWDs. Knowledge of disability had a significant relationship with age (X2 =24.226, p=0.002), level (X2 =62.082, p=<0.001), and family with disability (X2 =6.607, p=0.002). Attitude towards disability had a significant relationship with age (X2 =12.564, p=0.004), level (X2 =33.65, p=<0.001), and family with disability (X2 =4.742, p=0.002). Perception towards disability had a significant relationship with marital status (X2 =6.924, p=0.031), and level of study (X2 =31.471, p=<0.001). There was also a significant relationship between attitude, knowledge and perception (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed moderate knowledge but high perception and negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities among undergraduates of University of Benin. Moderate knowledge does not translate to positive attitude among undergraduates of University of Benin. Keywords: Disability, Knowledge, Attitude, Perception, Undergraduate
