Disabled consumers confined to wheelchairs represent a special consumer group for clothing manufacturers and retailers. They have special clothing needs and may perceive different risks associated with clothing purchases than do able-bodied consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine information seeking behavior, types of perceived risk—economic, performance, physical, psychological, and social—and the relationship between information seeking and risk associated with clothing purchases of 75 wheelchair-bound consumers. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the five types of risk and overall risk and the relationship between types of risk and information sources used. Perceived physical risk ranked highest and perceived social risk ranked lowest for the respondents. Performance and social risk were significantly correlated with overall risk at the.05 level. However, the correlation of various types ofrisk with the use ofspecific information sources was not significant except for a negative correlation between social risk and neutral information sources. Information sources most often used by respondents were mail order catalogs and family members. Those with cogenital disability perceived higher overall risk than those with acquired disability.More than 35 million Americans have some form of physical or mental disability (Shapiro, 1982). This segment of the population has received increased attention over the last decade because a greater number of disabled people are better educated and employed in meaningful jobs. Clothing has become important to them since they are more actively involved in communities.Disabled people confmed to wheelchairs represent a special consumer group for educational and marketing efforts related to clothing. They not only have specialized clothing needs involving fit of clothing in a seated position and ease in dressing but also may encounter accessibility problems when shopping and may perceive different risks associated with clothing purchases than do able-bodied consumers. Insight into the clothing-related risk perceptions and the information-seeking patterns of disabled consumers can promote more effective communication by educators and marketers.Clothing is essential to an individual's physical, psychological, and social well-being. Physically, clothing specifically designed for the disabled person allows independence in dressing and fulfills altered needs of comfort and safety

Clothing‐related risk perceptions of wheelchair‐bound consumers were examined and then compared to risk perceptions of able‐bodied consumers reported in previous studies. A scenario was used which involved the purchase of a pair of pants or slacks for a job interview to measure specific and overall clothing‐related risk perceptions of 75 wheelchair‐bound consumers. These disabled consumers perceived the order of clothing‐related risk components as: physical, performance, psychological, economic and social. In previous studies, able‐bodied students, reported a reverse order of perceived clothing‐related risks. In this study, performance and social risk significantly correlated with overall risk; the same correlations held for able‐bodied consumers in previous studies. Unique to this study were the high correlations of physical risk with psychological risk and economic risk. Wheelchair‐bound males and persons with congenital disabilities perceived greater overall risk than other disabled consumers in this study.