Mentor: Sujay Sabnis, Ph.D.

This study aimed to investigate the general attitudes of mental health professionals in Luxembourg toward neurodiversity, utilizing the Neurodiversity Attitudes Questionnaire (NDAQ) developed by Schuck et al (2024). Research goals intended to draw inferences towards the current incorporation of neurodiverse affirming approaches in mental health services across the country for the purpose of identifying areas of improvement. The research aimed to additionally determine if professional attitudes from NDAQ scores correlate with years of experience or the perceived quality of experience interacting with neurodivergent individuals. The survey was distributed to a cross-section of mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychiatrists. Study materials, including an email inquiry to 160 individuals and organizations seeking participants, a consent form, survey items, and debriefing statements, were provided in three languages: English, French, and Luxembourgish, with translation assistance credits to Dr. Aurélien Bellucci (French) and Professor Anouk Friederici (Luxembourgish). Data from 15 valid participants revealed a mean NDAQ score of 4.59 out of a possible 6, suggesting generally positive attitudes. However, Kendall’s Tau-b analysis showed no significant correlation between NDAQ scores and years in the field (𝜏b = -0.079, p = 0.689) or positive personal interactions (𝜏b = 0.247, p = 0.280). These findings suggest that neurodiversity-affirming beliefs may be independent of professional longevity or contact, potentially influenced instead by specific educational frameworks or adherence to a traditional medical model of disability. Recommendations include replicating the study with a larger sample size to improve reliability and reassess the significance of the correlations. The study is additionally highly recommended to be replicated alongside the conduction of comparative analyses with different geographic populations. Further training is suggested to transition practitioners toward neurodiversity-affirming care informed by the social model of disability to reduce diagnostic overshadowing and improve service accessibility.

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