Perceived interpersonal and institutional discrimination among persons with disability in the U.S.: Do patterns differ by age?

Disability and Patterns of Leisure Participation Across the Life Course

“…Yet the greatest disparities in passive leisure by disability occur during 40-49-years of age. This age category, in particular, may reflect a period in which people with disabilities are less connected to age-graded institutions like employment and the linked lives of spouses and children than their age peers without disabilities (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018; Clarke & McKay, 2014) and more susceptible to experiences of stigma and discrimination (Namkung & Carr, 2019). Midlife is also an important window for health-promoting leisure interventions among disabled populations.…”

“…Barriers to accessing quality leisure may also be age-graded, particularly for individuals who are younger and for whom disability is less prevalent among age peers (Taylor 2018). Namkung and Carr (2019), for example, find that people with disabilities in early midlife (ages 40-49) reported higher perceived lack of respect, harassment, and service discrimination than those in young adulthood (age 30-39) and in late midlife (50-64) and older age (age 65+). Additionally, younger people without disabilities perceive disability as more stigmatizing than older people without disabilities (Erler & Garstecki 2002).…”

The Psychological Consequences of Disability over the Life Course: Assessing the Mediating Role of Perceived Interpersonal Discrimination

“…Participants were asked, “How much does your health limit you in doing each of the following: lifting or carrying groceries; bathing or dressing yourself; climbing several flights of stairs; bending, kneeling, or stooping; walking more than a mile; walking several blocks; walking one block; vigorous activity (e.g., running, lifting heavy objects); moderate activity (e.g., bowling, vacuuming)?” Response categories were not at all, a little, some, and a lot. We classified participants as having a limitation if they reported at least “some” difficulty on any of the nine items, consistent with previous MIDUS analyses (Friedman 2016; Namkung and Carr 2019). The most common limitation reported among persons with impairment was vigorous activity (90%), followed by kneeling, bending, or stooping (46%) and walking a mile (41%).…”

“…Other subtle yet pernicious forms of stigmatization, including interpersonal slights, may affect psychological well-being, especially for those whose health and functioning are already compromised (Link and Phelan 2001). Studies based on large national surveys of U.S. adults (Namkung and Carr 2019) and smaller regional samples (Brown 2017; Kilpatrick and Taylor 2018) as well as studies focused on persons with psychiatric conditions (Kassam, Williams, and Patten 2012) and visible conditions such as hearing-aid use (Erler and Garstecki 2002) show that persons with disability experience microaggressions in everyday life, including bullying and disrespectful treatment. Likewise, focus group interviews of persons with sensory or physical limitations revealed they often felt they were treated like “second-class citizens” and that their intelligence and skills were underestimated (Keller and Galgay 2010:249–50).…”

“…lifting (Namkung and Carr 2019) are vulnerable to discriminatory and demeaning treatment. However, we know of no studies that formally evaluate the extent to which interpersonal discrimination contributes to mental health differentials between those with versus without impairment, or the extent to which these patterns vary over the life course.…”