Exploring Young Adults’ Knowledge and Ethical Views on Modern Eugenics

This study examined the relationship between attitudes towards persons with disabilities and acceptance of modern eugenic beliefs among young adults in India. It focuses on the complexity of Attitudes towards emerging genetic technologies with an understanding of ethical perceptions surrounding disability and reproduction. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed using anonymous participants of the age range 18 to 25, with varying educational levels. The attitude towards disability was measured using the Attitudes towards Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale, Yuker, Block, and Young (1970). Acceptance of eugenic beliefs was recovered using 15 item Modern Eugenics Acceptance Scale Cheung, B. Y., Schmalor, A., & Heine, S. J., 2021). Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between attitudes towards disabled persons and eugenic acceptance (r = −.388, p < .001), indicating that more positive attitudes towards disability were associated with lower acceptance of eugenic ideologies. A two-way ANOVA indicated that the gender difference was not significant (p = .392), whereas education level significantly influenced eugenic acceptance; the interaction between gender and education level was not significant (p = .110). These findings suggest that attitudes towards disability and educational background play an important role in shaping ethical perspectives towards modern eugenic beliefs and genetic decision making.