Malvika’s doctoral thesis is a mixed study with both qualitative and quantitative measures to understand the attitude of students towards individuals with disability. The study of attitudes towards people with disabilities is of extreme importance, because many of the obstacles encountered by people with disabilities are generated by them. A negative attitude towards a person with a disability affects his or her ability to settle into mainstream society and perform work well suited to skills and interests.

Malvika developed her own attitude tool with 60 questions covering major factors which were tested for validity and reliability. The participants of this study are students from Chennai city. Students are an important part of our society as they are also our future leaders. They will influence social policy development and implementation as future policymakers. It is, therefore, imperative to study attitudes of these future leaders because they will provide future direction in terms of inclusion in society, relationships and employment. She also presented a model of an inclusive society with suggestions to promote positive attitude towards differently- abled individuals.

Malvika is the recipient of Madras School of Social Work Rolling Cup for the Best M.Phil. Thesis on “A Study on the Quality of Life of Orthopedically Challenged Individuals in Rehabilitation Centers, Chennai”.