Disability Identity Research Articles

Normalizing Abnormal Psychology: An Anti-Ableist Approach

Introduction A survey course of mental health diagnoses is a commonly taken undergraduate psychology course and presents a critical opportunity for addressing ableism in psychology. Statement of the Problem The presentation of mental health diagnoses is wrought with ableist beliefs, both in the historical and contemporary context. These ableist beliefs are a prime driver of stigma and its associated outcomes including worse mental health and avoidance of treatment professionals. Literature Review The present article presents the ableist context of the course typically titled, “Abnormal Psychology,” and offers an alternative: the building of an anti-ableist curriculum grounded in disability studies. We use the social model of disability and disability identity as guiding principles, while inquiry-based learning is the pedagogical driver. Teaching Implications We review six practical strategies, which include introducing the social model, renaming the class, starting with positive disability identity, complicating the continuum-categorical dichotomy, centering disability representation, and emphasizing consumer rights and direction. Conclusion By leaning on disability studies and Mad Pride, “Abnormal Psychology” can deconstruct its ableist roots and be the foundation for a destigmatized, positive approach towards the study of psychological disorders. We offer future directions, including potential ways to continually assess anti-ableist efforts.

Embracing Enablement: Impairment, Community and Disability Identity in Young Adult Fiction

Many authors in recent years have worked to encourage the inclusion of disabled people and to show disability characters in a positive light. In order to accomplish this, they tend to produce counter-disability characters and scenarios to promote enablement. This textual analysis focuses on three young adult fictions that provide positive portrayals of protagonists with disability, including Out of My Mind (Draper, 2010), Five Flavors of Dumb (John, 2010) and Jerk, California (Friesen, 2008). Drawing on the social identity theory and the social model, this paper explores how the protagonists' disability identities are formed. Three themes emerged from the textual analysis: impairment and identity, which looked at the complex interactions between impairment and identity; community transformation, which analyzed factors causing both socially constructed disability and positive interaction; and positive disability identity, which examined how protagonists navigate challenges and form positive identity. This study may offer recommendations for educators, parents, and researchers who might utilize this study to advance and build an inclusive society.

Parental Allyship for Children With Dyslexia: A Conceptual Lens on Disability Experience

Current understandings of disability experience are centered around individuals who hold the disability identity and membership in the marginalized group. This perspective does not include the experiences of disability allies, such as parents, who act alongside their children to support their access and engagement in the education setting. This partial perspective is of concern because it does not reflect the depth and complexity of disability experience for those in allyship roles. This paper builds on current understandings of disability experience by introducing an emerging conceptual lens that defines and describes the nature of disability experience for those acting in allyship roles. Attention is focused on children with dyslexia and their parents to illustrate this conceptual lens. Extending on ecological models of interactions and understandings of subjective experience, the authors highlight how the proximity of the parental experience to the child’s dyslexic identity shapes parental allyship and present a lens of disability experience that includes primary, vicarious, and primary adjacent experience. The proposed conceptual lens offers researchers and educators an opportunity to view disability experience and allyship from an alternative perspective, and in doing so, consider a broader understanding of disability experience and allyship that would potentially provide insights into parent–school partnerships.

Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Determination and Economic Hardship Constructs Among Adolescents With and Without Disabilities

In this registered report, we examined interrelationships between established constructs of self-determination and economic hardship using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS2012). We tested the hypothesized factor structure of selected NLTS2012 items assessing constructs associated with self-determination (i.e., autonomy, psychological empowerment, and self-realization) using the full sample of youth with and without disabilities. Using latent variable modeling, we explored interrelationships among these constructs and economic hardship across disability and race/ethnicity groups. The self-determination constructs were confirmed, two of which (autonomy and psychological empowerment) resulted in significant inverse relationships with economic hardship. Different patterns emerged for youth with intersecting identities of disability, race, and ethnicity. Findings will inform culturally responsive approaches to transition service delivery that address and reduce systemic barriers, as well as provide support for promoting self-determination skills for all youth.

Adolescent OCD Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Identity, Authenticity, and Normalcy in Potential Deep Brain Stimulation Treatment.

The ongoing debate within neuroethics concerning the degree to which neuromodulation such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) changes the personality, identity, and agency (PIA) of patients has paid relatively little attention to the perspectives of prospective patients. Even less attention has been given to pediatric populations. To understand patients' views about identity changes due to DBS in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the authors conducted and analyzed semistructured interviews with adolescent patients with OCD and their parents/caregivers. Patients were asked about projected impacts to PIA generally due to DBS. All patient respondents and half of caregivers reported that DBS would impact patient self-identity in significant ways. For example, many patients expressed how DBS could positively impact identity by allowing them to explore their identities free from OCD. Others voiced concerns that DBS-related resolution of OCD might negatively impact patient agency and authenticity. Half of patients expressed that DBS may positively facilitate social access through relieving symptoms, while half indicated that DBS could increase social stigma. These views give insights into how to approach decision-making and informed consent if DBS for OCD becomes available for adolescents. They also offer insights into adolescent experiences of disability identity and "normalcy" in the context of OCD.

Exploring the Personal Identity of College Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Emerging adulthood is a period of human development ripe for personal identity exploration and a college campus can be a conducive environment for this to take place. Historically, many transition-age adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have been denied access to college, but with the rise in inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs across the country, that is changing. This study uses a combination of semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation discussions with 11 emerging adults enrolled in a southeastern IPSE program to better understand how these individuals understand and express their personal identity as well as the contextual factors contributing to their experiences with personal identity. Using thematic analysis, we uncovered seven salient themes across the data, including a theme related to the complicated nature of the participants’ disability identity.

Political participation among deaf youth in Great Britain.

Variations in political participation are linked to demographic factors, socioeconomic disparities, and cultural-ethnic diversity. Existing research has primarily explored reduced political involvement among individuals with disabilities, particularly in electoral politics. However, little research has attended the involvement of deaf people specifically. This is of interest because deaf youth are at an intersection of disability, language and cultural identity with their language affiliations and rejection or acceptance of disability evolving through childhood. This study draws from original data collected via an online survey, comprising 163 deaf young respondents aged 16-19 in Great Britain. We compare their levels of political participation with those of general population peers to explore how sociodemographic factors, alongside variations in self-identification as deaf, and meaningful interactions with other deaf people contribute to explain their political engagement. The results challenge conventional wisdom by demonstrating that deaf youth participate more actively in politics than their hearing peers in various forms of political involvement, including collective, contact, and institutional activism. We also recognize differences among deaf youth and propose that social aspects of identity formation, particularly embracing a deaf identity and having deaf friends, can boost certain forms of political engagement. In summary, this study underscores the importance of acknowledging the diversity of deaf youth in terms of affiliation with various forms of deaf identity, rendering their experience different from both disabled and hearing youth. By identifying the factors driving heightened political participation, policymakers and advocates can develop strategies to enhance political engagement among all young people, regardless of their hearing status.

How Can It Not Know What It Is?: Remembering Disability as Part of the Whole

Abstract How Can It Not Know What It Is? is a conversation that uses the revered sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982) as a frame to explore the role of memory and affirm disabled identity in collective human experience, specifically concerning technology, the power of self-knowledge, and how these concepts intersect with capitalism and contemporary politics. In an open conversation excerpted here, the artist-authors discuss what it means to be wholly human, navigating subjects from memory to extended cognition, from national mythology to the ethics of AI.

Developing a justice-focused body image program for U.S. middle schoolers: a school-based community-engaged research process

ABSTRACT We describe a community-engaged research process to co-create and implement an evidence-informed, diversity-focused body image program for early adolescents. Our team included middle school staff, students, and teachers, and university faculty and students. Team members had a diverse range of intersecting cis- and transgender, racial, sexuality, and disability identities. Specific steps to the research process included: (1) establishing team leads at each site to maintain a collaborative and non-hierarchical team structure; (2) bi-weekly advisory team meetings to establish program needs and discuss curriculum and implementation options; (3) a year-long youth co-design process to generate content ideas, pilot pieces of programming, and incorporate youth leadership through an equity lens; (4) inclusive program writing from members of socially marginalized groups; (5) program piloting to solicit feedback from teachers, facilitators, and students; and (6) collaboratively incorporating feedback. The resulting 8-session (6 hours total) Body Justice Project has both dissonance-based and media literacy foundations, with topics related to cultural appearance ideals, diet culture and non-diet nutrition, media and appearance pressure, and body autonomy. It is designed for in-class delivery to middle school students by trained college and youth co-facilitator teams. We emphasize guiding principles and lessons learned, along with next steps in implementation.

The sport and exercise experiences of physically disabled women in Iran: shame, stereotyping, and Goffman’s stigma

To date, there is a scarcity of research in Iran exploring disabled women’s sport and exercise experiences. However, it is evident that widespread challenges exist for disabled people to participate in daily life on an equal basis to their non-disabled counterparts. Using 16 interviews, our research aimed to explore the intersecting identities of disability and gender in Iranian women’s sport and exercise participation, using Goffman’s theory of stigma and the social model of disability. Our findings suggest numerous environmental barriers to participation. As traditional gender beliefs still prevail in Iran, this often created a ‘double disadvantage’ for women. Both enacted and affiliate stigma were highlighted by interviewees, with negative perceptions around disability internalised, resulting in self-exclusion from sport and exercise spaces and disempowering elements to their participation. This research adds to the literature on sport/exercise and disability, focusing on Iranian women’s voices which are largely absent from the current literature.

The Underutilization of Mental Health Care Services in the Lives of People with Blindness or Visual Impairment: A Literature Review on Rehabilitation Factors Toward Provision.

Roughly 3 million adult Americans have a visual impairment or blindness, and over 4 million adults aged 40 and older. Despite data demonstrating an elevated prevalence of mental health symptoms in people with BVI, this population remains largely untreated. Given that people with BVI often interface with multiple systems of rehabilitative care that are designed to improve quality of life, the relatively low rates of initiation of mental health care services are particularly alarming. In this review, the systematic processes of mental health care services across pertinent rehabilitation groups are identified and critically examined. A comprehensive literature review was conducted. The literature review utilized a critical systems typology, whereby relevant literature was selected, reviewed, and analyzed intra and extra organizationally. In addition, a thorough discussion of disability-related factors was provided, lending a socio-political lens to the problem. Considerable data indicates that short-term mental health care services for people with BVI are ineffective treatment methods, albeit primarily employed in health-rehabilitative processes. Multiple studies offered data indicating the presence of diverse and entangled mental health issues relative to vocational rehabilitation services, mobility tool utility, and emotional reactions to vision loss. Many studies suggested that disability identity work be integrated into health-rehabilitative processes for people with BVI. To improve the utility of mental health care services for people with BVI, a reenergization of the mental health care needs of this population must occur. A critical podcast or forum focused on educating listeners about the health-rehabilitation factors that influence the provision of mental health care services can aid to improve future mental health policy and practice for people with BVI. Disability scholars need to advance research on integrating critical theories in work with people with BVI and accelerate qualitative, community-based methods to enhance understanding of this population and their unique mental health needs.

Intersectionality of Gender, Race, Class, Sexuality, Disability and Other Social Identities in Shaping the Experiences and Opportunities of Marginalized Groups in Ukraine

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the intersectionality of gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and other social identities in shaping the experiences and opportunities of marginalized groups.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: Intersectionality recognizes how various social identities intersect to shape the experiences of marginalized groups, acknowledging compounded disadvantages. For instance, a Black woman may face discrimination based on race and gender simultaneously, affecting her access to opportunities. This framework emphasizes considering intersecting identities in analyzing social issues and advocating for inclusive policies. It underscores the need for understanding the interconnected nature of oppression and inequality.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Intersectionality theory, social identity theory & critical race theory may be used to anchor future studies on the intersectionality of gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, and other social identities in shaping the experiences and opportunities of marginalized groups. Organizations should adopt inclusive practices that recognize and value the diverse identities and experiences of individuals. Policymakers should design and implement policies that address the intersecting needs of marginalized groups

Intersectionality of Gender, Race, Class, Sexuality, Disability and Other Social Identities in Shaping the Experiences and Opportunities of Marginalized Groups in Ukraine

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the representation and participation of women and gender minorities in various fields and domains.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: In recent years, progress has been made in increasing the representation and participation of women and gender minorities across various fields. Despite these advancements, gender disparities persist due to ongoing barriers such as discrimination and unequal opportunities. Efforts to promote diversity and inclusion through initiatives like gender quotas and mentorship programs are crucial in addressing these challenges and achieving true gender equality..
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social construction theory, intersectionality theory & feminist theory may be used to anchor future studies on the representation and participation of women and gender minorities in various fields and domains. In practice, efforts are directed towards implementing strategies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in each domain. Policy interventions play a crucial role in institutionalizing and sustaining efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of universal school-based SEL programs in the United States: Considerations for marginalized students

The present study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the evidence for universal school-based SEL programming within the United States to understand nation-specific trends in SEL implementation and effectiveness, and provide specific recommendations for marginalized students- particularly those with minority gender-, racial- ethnic, linguistic-, and disability identities, within SEL. Analyzing the effects of 90 universal school-based social and emotional learning studies, reflecting 47 discrete SEL programs, and 20,626 students in grades K-12 in the United States, from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2020, we report that students who participate in universal school-based SEL programs experienced significantly improved academic achievement, school functioning, social and emotional skills, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of school climate and safety. Furthermore, programs in the United States benefited students in elementary and secondary school equally, and had the strongest outcomes for students when teachers were the program implementors. SEL programs in the United States were varied in their program features, duration, and dosage, had limited engagement with families and community, and did not show evidence of an overall follow-up effect 6 months or longer after a program ends. SEL programs were found to be equally efficacious for boys and girls meta-analytically, and systematic review of available studies revealed preliminary evidence of differential and positive effects for students with marginalized racial and ethnic identities. Limited representation of marginalized linguistic, sexual, and ability identities inhibited exploration of additional effects analytically, and descriptive results, alongside opportunities for increasing reporting and analyses are discussed.

Inaugural editorial: Rehabilitation Psychology.

For over 50 years, Rehabilitation Psychology has helped highlight important issues experienced by the disability community. We are extremely excited to continue that legacy in our role as the journal's first dual editors-in-chief, and we look forward to working with our associate editors, Kathleen Bogart and Daniel Klyce, our editorial fellows, and our large editorial board and ad hoc reviewer pool. In our tenure as the journal's editors, we will focus heavily on (a) providing exceptional service, (b) emphasizing diversity and disability identity, (c) broadening the scope of the field, (d) promoting high-quality research standards, and (e) looking ahead. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

School physical education and disabled students: what about Paralympic sports?

ABSTRACT School physical education (PE) has been presented as a privilege for socially dominant groups recognized by their non-disabled bodies. This study aims to investigate the introduction of a 5-week Paralympic sports unit into the PE curriculum as an educational right for disabled students through its recognition as official knowledge representative of their physical abilities and educational right in PE classes. With a poststructuralist perspective, we reflect on dominant discourses on disability in the school PE field and highlight traditional practices and beliefs that pertain to disabled students. Accordingly, we conducted interviews and focus group discussions with one disabled student, his peers and their PE teacher, allowing for the exploration of values, beliefs and practices associated with disability before and after the Paralympic sports unit. Participants’ comments were subjected to interpretative thematic analysis. Paralympic sports enabled the disabled student to recognize and express their identity by critically questioning PE normative practices. Furthermore, Paralympic sports in the PE curriculum was presented as a strategy to raise non-disabled students’ disability awareness rather than as disabled students’ educational right. Paralympic sports constitutes a crucial aspect of the path towards inclusive education grounded in the values of equity and disability identity recognition.

Doing difference differently: Identity (re)constructions of adults with acquired disabilities.

The acquisition of a disability impacts one's corporeality and has been found to destabilize one's sense of personal and social identity. The article explores the psychological and behavioral adaptation strategies that are employed in response to resisting, incorporating, and/or integrating disability into one's identity. We refer to a study that considered factors that facilitate and/or impede disability identification, aiming to investigate the trajectory that the process of identity (re)construction takes. Seven individual, in person, semistructured interviews were conducted with adults with acquired physical and sensory disabilities. Data underwent thematic analysis. To encapsulate the intrapersonal as well as interpersonal dynamics inherent in identity (re)construction, the analysis was guided by an interpretative phenomenological lens and social identity theory (SIT). Disability identification is a complex and contradictory phenomenon, with strategies of resistance, incorporation, and/or integration fluctuating by setting and circumstance. These findings represent a significant departure from SIT literature-participants rather made use of more collectivist as opposed to individualistic adaptation strategies. Arguably, progress is being made with regard to disability pride, opening up a space for more positive and affirming disabled identities. Furthermore, disability identification is largely facilitated by greater opportunities for political advocacy and social support-online and in the disabled community. However, stigma-internalized and external-is still a major inhibitory factor to disability identification. Recommendations for rehabilitation programs and psychological professionals working with acquired physical and sensory disability are proposed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

FILMS AS PROTEST: TOWARDS EQUITABLE DISABILITY REPRESENTATION IN FILMS

Films can contribute to disability advocacies through a critique of ableist attitudes and discriminations against disabled people. Film’s potentials are found in its popularity as a mass medium and its unique quality as a storytelling media combining moving pictures and sounds. Studies have found that films have predominantly represented disabilities stereotypically through tropes such as pity and tragedy, thereby misrecognizing disability identity (Norden, 1994; Safran, 1998; Black & Pretes, 2007). Other studies have found that the prevalence of using nondisabled actors to play disabled roles represents media injustice and inauthentic portrayal of disabilities (Ross, 1997; Siebers, 2016; Kuppers, 2007; Haller, 2019). This paper offers initial recommendations on the use of films as protest for disabled people in a time where disability identity and inclusion are more salient. Arising from workshops held with disabled people and filmmakers to co-produce knowledge on authentic representation, the recommendations in this paper reflect ways forward for inclusive disability representation on screen.

Rehabilitation, the disciplining of the body, and disability identity: Reflections from psychotherapy with disabled people.

Recently, attention has been paid to how rehabilitation not only provides medical treatment and instrumental skills but also impacts psychological well-being and identity. We all have psychological structures that discipline the self, enforcing norms internalised during early life and exacting judgments when we fail to 'make the grade'. In cases of congenital disabilities, rehabilitation interventions may span many years, involving strict programmes of therapy, exercise and self-discipline. These regimes may align with internalised rules in harmful ways, as striving for functional improvements takes on a moral dimension, affecting psychological health and empowered disability identities. This study explores rehabilitation by examining the experiences of adults with congenital disabilities, who have undergone childhood medical and rehabilitative interventions. This study was based on the experience of a psychoanalytic psychotherapist working with adults with disability, and presents composite case material to illustrate how interactions with medical authority figures, such as rehabilitation professionals, can have a formative influence on self-identity and entitlement to inclusion. The findings vividly reflected how 'medical socialisation' created meanings of disability that were enacted and repeated well into adulthood. The discipline of rehabilitation still has much to do in examining its value-laden assumptions and practices, and how these may shape the internal and relational worlds of people with disability. This article contributes to the debate in critical rehabilitation studies, focussing on the issue of constructions of disability which may be communicated to people with disability, with implications for self-advocacy and the growth of the disability movement.

Reimagining Support for Autistic Indigenous Children in the United States: Addressing Under-Identification and Service Gaps.

Although the original purpose of this article was to provide a comprehensive review of services provided for autistic children among Indigenous communities in Texas, USA, the authors' encounter with a significant paucity in availability of data and relevant reports on Indigenous services for ASD spurred the choice of a perspective article instead as it allows a more critical view into the pitfalls surrounding the state of autism services. The meager documentation availability presents a dilemma for both researchers and Indigenous communities since it often leads to misrepresentations of data, and limits understanding of existing support systems. This perspective article addresses these issues and serves to highlight the complexity of collecting data among Indigenous populations across the United States. Specifically, it emphasizes the challenges faced in Texas, shedding light on the various barriers such as variations in cultural identity, government trust, cultural awareness, and disability identity that impede data-collection efforts in providing effective services to Indigenous populations. We advocate for a radical transformation in understanding how to approach and report the prevalence of possible ASD autism among Indigenous children to provide effective and tailored services. Ultimately, this transformation aims to secure the necessary data to provide services that effectively complement the existing support systems within individual Indigenous communities to enable their fullest and most equitable participation in society. The discussion calls for a comprehensive roadmap to achieve the goal of increasing Indigenous data collection and availability while the conclusion outlines a suggested roadmap to achieve the goals of increasing data generation and available services to Indigenous communities, and ultimately, improving services for Indigenous children with ASD in Texas and their families.