Public Awareness of and Attitudes toward Cerebral Palsy in a Nation‐Wide Adult Population

Of 1,200 people randomly sampled from the total Finnish population, cerebral palsy was known to 95.4% and its meaning to 60.7%. Nine of ten (88.4%) would let their children play with a child suffering from cerebral palsy. A total of 48% stated that they would, other circumstances being equal, hire persons with cerebral palsy. Half (47.5%) of the subjects regarded it as possible and a further 28.0% as fully possible for individuals with cerebral palsy to make and maintain a family of their own. A good knowledge of cerebral palsy was independently related to a good basic education, age of more than 24 years, female sex and Finnish as native language. A positive attitude toward people with cerebral palsy was independently related to Finnish as native language and a good basic education. A good knowledge of cerebral palsy fostered a positive attitude toward people with this disease.