No abstract

No abstract

This article conceptualizes identity-mediated psychosocial disability of socially excluded individuals and groups from a socio-behavioural perspective. It postulates collective representations, inequitable social interactions and personal characteristics that lead to perception and internalization of negative identity in members of stigmatized groups. Non-dominant identity induces self-imposed and society-ascribed psychosocial disability through stigmatization and discrimination. Psychosocial disability is a state where individual or collective sense of incapacity restricts optimal use of individual and collective human agency to influence out-groups favourably to achieve self-expansion and communal expansion. The aspects of psychosocial disability include poor self-concept, low ethnic self-esteem, negatively internalized identity, poor social integration and conflicts in social relations. It results in psychosocial disability that further increases social exclusion, reduces quality of life and well-being. This article concludes that socially excluded individuals and groups experience psychosocial disability in everyday life.

No abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted among 301 dalit women in rural Tamilnadu to examine the influence of caste on social identity, stigma, discrimination, social relations and quality of community life. Using multi-stage cluster sampling procedure, the present study used standardized scales to measure the variables of interest. Alongside descriptive analysis, univariate ANO VA was used to examine the caste-wise variance ofk ey variables observed. Results reveal that Parayar women internalized high level of ethnic or social identity, stigma, everyday life discrimination, frequent conflicts in social relations and reduced quality of community life. While women of other lower castes bettered on quality of community life. The study concludes that caste is a significant qualitative variable with substantial influence on ethnic or dalit identity internalization, perceptions of stigma, need for equity, discrimination, conflicts in social relations and quality cf community life. Thus social disability of dalits substantially differ caste wise; therefore developing caste wise systematic evidence on dalit social disability and exclusion are of critical importance to prioritize programmatic and policy interventions to better the life of dalits among dalits.