Indirect Contact and Knowledge Interventions to Improve Relations in the Disabled-Nondisabled Intergroup Context: A Systematic Review

Stigma and prejudice towards individuals with disabilities is still prevalent in society today (Livneh, Chan, and Kaya 2014). Our aim was to evaluate the state of the research that tests interventions aiming to improve such attitudes, including uncovering which intervention methods can reduce this prejudice and identifying gaps in the research. Since a large proportion of nondisabled individuals will not have the opportunity for direct contact with disabled individuals, our systematic review focuses on non-direct-contact interventions, specifically knowledge-based and indirect contact techniques. Fifty-one studies published between 2001 and 2022 met all criteria, including the use of a comparison or control group. Overall, most studies did have a positive change on outcome measures, with some maintaining the effect weeks or months later. Despite intervention successes, trends indicating gaps in the research were uncovered including the focus on child and undergraduate student participants, and the lack of collaborative research with the disabled communities.