Attitudes toward disability among preservice special education teachers: the role of attachment style and empathy

ABSTRACT The present study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the role of pre-service special education teachers’ attachment styles and empathy dimensions in sentiments, attitudes, and concerns towards disability. Participants were 536 pre-service special education teachers (78.4% females and 21.6% males), Results of the path analysis showed that some empathy dimensions (fantasy and personal distress) played a mediating role in the association between preoccupied and fearful attachment styles and teachers’ sentiments and concerns towards disability. Moreover, a direct positive association was reported from preoccupied attachment style to sentiments and concerns towards disability, from fantasy and personal distress (both dimensions of empathy) to sentiments towards disability, from personal distress to concerns towards disability, and from empathic concerns to attitudes towards disability, whereas negative relationships were found from perspective-taking to concerns and sentiments towards disability, as well as from empathic concern to sentiments towards disability.