Consequences of Perceived Personal and Group Discrimination against People with Hearing and Visual Impairments.

Daniel Pérez-Garín,Patricia Recio,Fernando Molero

doi:10.3390/ijerph18179064

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine the consequences of perceived discrimination in people with hearing and visual impairments. Using path analysis, we attempted to validate a multigroup model in which perceived personal discrimination is associated with internalization of stigma, which, in turn, is negatively related to self-esteem; conversely, perceived discrimination against the in-group contributes to enhanced group identification, which promotes the intention to engage in collective action, which, in turn, has beneficial effects on self-esteem. The sample consisted of a total of 200 Spanish-speaking participants, of whom 104 had hearing impairments and 96 had visual impairments. The results showed that the proposed multigroup model fit the data well. For both groups, internalized stigma played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived personal discrimination and self-esteem. However, the pathway from group discrimination to self-esteem was not as clearly supported by the data. The results are interpreted from a psychosocial perspective and may contribute to design interventions aimed at improving the well-being of people with hearing and visual impairments.

Highlights

People with hearing or visual impairments often suffer from discrimination or “ableism”.In disability studies, the concept of “ableism” refers to a kind of discrimination in favor of able-bodied people involving the notion that “disability may be tolerated but, in the final instance, is inherently negative” [1] (p. 151)
This review shows that having a hearing impairment is a major threat to social identity, threatening the stability of social interaction, and that stigma impedes help-seeking activities
We proposed a multigroup model (Figure 1) in which perceived personal discrimination and perceived group discrimination are related to people’s self-esteem through different paths

Summary

Introduction

People with hearing or visual impairments often suffer from discrimination or “ableism”.In disability studies, the concept of “ableism” refers to a kind of discrimination in favor of able-bodied people involving the notion that “disability may be tolerated but, in the final instance, is inherently negative” [1] (p. 151). People with hearing or visual impairments often suffer from discrimination or “ableism”. The concept of “ableism” refers to a kind of discrimination in favor of able-bodied people involving the notion that “disability may be tolerated but, in the final instance, is inherently negative” [1] 505), “stigmatized individuals possess (or are believed to possess) some attribute, or characteristic, that conveys a social identity that is devalued in some particular context”; having a hearing or visual impairment may constitute such an attribute. According to Fine and Asch [4], many of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in their daily lives are not directly caused by their disabilities but rather by a disabling environment that builds barriers (both physical and social) that exacerbate exclusion and discrimination. Many of those barriers are, a product of stigma and not of disability, and society’s failure to acknowledge this makes public and structural stigma worse

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion