“Just how much did that wheelchair cost?”: Management of privacy boundaries by persons with disabilities

Hastorf A.H., Wildfogel J., Cassman T.

Chaikin A.L., Derlega V.J.

Cozby P.C.

Farina A., Sherman M., Allen J.G.

White R.K., Wright B.A., Dembo T.

Interviews with 100 visibly injured servicemen are the basis of this analysis of varieties of reaction to curiosity and staring. Discussion of injuries is acceptable when it is controlled by the wishes of the injured man, but is objectionable when it represents idle curiosity. Staring is an invasion of privacy which the injured man can not control. His acceptance or rejection of his injury determines his perception of the other person's attitude and interest. Talking about implications of the injury may aid his outlook. Avoiding the topic makes the injured man more insecure and sensitive, rather than resolving his conflicting feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

Merton R.K., Kendall P.L.

The focused interview is designed to determine the responses of persons exposed to a situation previously analyzed by the investigator. Its chief functions are to discover: (1) the significant aspects of the total situation to which response has occurred; (2) discrepancies between anticipated and actual effects; (3) responses of deviant subgroups in the population; and (4) the processes involved in experimentally induced effects. Procedures for satisfying the criteria of specificity, range, and depth in the interview are described.

Braithwaite D.O.

Research on the communication of persons with acquired physical disabilities gives us the unique opportunity to study individuals who have once been part of the majority and then become members of the minority in their own culture. The purpose of this study was to look at how persons with acquired disabilities move from communicating as members of the ablebodied majority to doing so as members of the disabled minority, focusing on the adjustments they make in their communication and relationships with members of the ablebodied culture. An interview and interpretive analysis method was used with persons who have become disabled since birth. Using DeLoach & Greer's three phases of adjustment to disability as a descriptive framework, the results of the analysis showed that persons with disabilities demonstrate an awareness of their new culture and develop communication strategies to communicate with the ablebodied majority. These communication strategies were argued to constitute impression management, and are designed to facilitate persons with disabilities being accepted as “persons first.” This study sheds light on the process that persons go through as they become assimilated and demonstrates communication strategies that are used to adjust to a new culture.

Emry R., Wiseman R.L.

Persons with a disability represent an oppressed minority. There are a number of barriers to their integration within mainstream society, but social barriers are probably the most difficult to overcome. To understand better the nature of these barriers, this paper explores ablebodied and disabled persons' communication as a form of intercultural communication. This was facilitated by an application of Rohrlich's three-tier model of intercultural communication, that is the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systematic levels of intercultural communication. The paper concludes with implications of the model for organizing extant research and recommendations for the improvement of ablebodied/disabled communication.

Petronio S., Martin J.N.

The study examined the frequency with which men (N = 126) and women (N = 126) anticipated positive and negative ramifications to disclosure of information in four topic areas: Parental, achievement, sexual, and global. The findings indicate that men predicted more negative ramifications for all topics than women, while women predicted more positive ramifications than men. In terms of topic, men predicted more negative ramifications than women when they were disclosing information about achievement. Overall, it was found that respondents expected more positive than negative ramifications. However, when topic was considered, respondents predicted negative ramifications most frequently for the sexual topic and least frequently for the achievement topic. Implications were discussed in terms of boundary regulation and achievement orientation for men and women.

Petronio S., Martin J., Littlefield R.

Using a scheme previously developed by the authors to define conceptually self‐disclosure, this study focuses on one dimension found in that investigation— prerequisite for disclosure. The research examines gender differences in perceived importance placed on four conditions: setting, receiver, sender, and relationship characteristics judged to be needed before disclosing private information about oneself to others. The study also looks at the influence of topic on males’ and females’ use of conditions. Results suggest that women find sender and receiver characteristics more important as prerequisite conditions for self‐disclosure than do men. No significant effect of topic on the use of conditions was found for men or women.

Mills J., Belgrave F.Z., Boyer K.M.

The effectiveness of strategies for reducing avoidance of social interaction with a physically disabled person was experimentally investigated. Female college students privately expressed their preference for social interaction before and after learning the other was a female in a wheelchair or nondisabled. The results provide evidence for the effectiveness of mentioning the disability following a request for aid related to the disability (the Request-mention Strategy). Change in preference for social interaction was more positive when the disabled person employed the Request-mention strategy than when she said nothing. Requesting aid without mentioning the disability was not found to be effective. A request for aid unrelated to the disability was clearly ineffective. The disabled person who said nothing was avoided, in comparison to when the same person was nondisabled. Favorability of impressions of the other, as measured by ratings of her characteristics, was not influenced by the experimental conditions.

Thompson T.L.

Belcrave F.Z., Mills J.

An experiment investigated the effectiveness of strategies that could be used by a physically disabled person to reduce the social handicap of being avoided in first encounters. Female college students indicated their preference for social interaction before and after learning the other person was a male in a wheelchair or nondisabled. When the disabled person made a general comment mentioning his disability after a request for help or after a miscue, change in preference for social interaction was more positive than when he did not mention his disability, providing evidence for the effectiveness of mentioning the disability following an incident involving the disability. Mention of the disability in the absence of an incident involving the disability was not found to be effective. The different ways of mentioning the disability did not affect the favorability of impressions of the disabled person, as measured by ratings of his characteristics. Impressions were generally more favorable for the disabled person than the person not in a wheelchair.

Heinemann W., Pellander F., Vogelbusch A., Wojtek B.

Studied differences in verbal, nonverbal, and physiological responses during a confrontation with a male confederate role-playing either a physically handicapped (PH), homosexual (HS), or normal (NOR) person. One hundred and eight males from colleges of economics and engineering listened in a laboratory experiment to personal introductions by two confederates in succession. Whereas the first confederate always appeared normal, the second took one of the three roles mentioned. A further informal meeting with this confederate was arranged outside the laboratory; all subjects had taken a stereotype test before. Normative differences between PH and HS (p ≤ 0.05) are found on verbal measures including the stereotype test, self-rated emotion and consent to a further contact. General effects of deviance separating PH and HS from NOR (p ≤ 0.05) emerge on observed emotion, interpersonal distance during the informal meeting, and skin-resistance responses. The results largely confirm the hypotheses. They are interpreted as supporting a distinction between intended (action-type) components of behaviour which are strongly influenced by subjective norms, and unintended (reaction-type) components reflecting undifferentiated reactions to deviance.

THOMPSON T.L., SEIBOLD D.R.

Niu S., Liu L., Bian Y.

Video-sharing platforms offer a unique avenue for people with disabilities (PWDs) to highlight their experiences, including the challenges and accessibility barriers they face. While creators with disabilities effectively use these platforms to share their life struggles and advocate for societal changes, the scope of research exploring the nature of the discourse activities related to disability challenges remains limited. Our study addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive qualitative content analysis of 468 videos posted by YouTubers with a range of disabilities, including vision, speech, mobility, hearing, and cognitive and neural impairments. Our findings reveal a predominant discussion on stigma and lack of support. YouTube is also used to share difficulties related to communication and systemic problems. Creators with disabilities also share experiences with technologies and public and private environments, through which they discuss accessibility issues and solutions. Building on our analysis, we propose future research directions aimed at enhancing the experience and support for disability communities on video-sharing platforms.

King A.M., Davis C.J., Darby C., Proudfoot D., Burrow A.L.

Romo L.K., Obiol M.E., Taussig M.J.

Armstrong-Wood R., Messiou C., Kite A., Joyce E., Panousis S., Campbell H., Lauriau A., Manning J., Carlson T.

Sparrow D., Parcell E.S., Gerlikovski E.R., Simpson D.N.

For decades, studies concerning microaggressions were primarily limited to those based in racism. While more recent research has expanded to microaggressions based in gender and sexuality, minimal research has been conducted on how microaggressions are experienced by people with disabilities. For the current study, ten adults with a congenital or acquired disabilities participated in semi-structured interviews where they shared their stories of microaggressions. Our qualitative analysis identified two sources (i.e., kids vs. adults; inside/outside the disabled community) and seven forms of microaggressions (i.e., denial of identity, denial of privacy, helpless treatment, spread effect, patronization, exoticization, and social distancing/isolation). Toxic positivity, a form of denying identity, and pitying, a form of helpless treatment, also emerged in our participants’ experiences.

Takagi L., Miyafuji S., Pardomuan J., Koike H.

With the growing need for wheelchairs, much wheelchair research has focused on wheelchair control, such as fully automatic driving and remote control. For wheelchair users, conversations with caregivers and others around the wheelchair are also important and must be considered. Therefore, we propose a system that connects the users to remote caregivers and others by using omnidirectional displays. Our system allows remote caregivers to observe both the users and their surroundings and to control the wheelchair, while the users and others feel the existence of remote caregivers. We conducted a system evaluation and user interviews to demonstrate that the proposed system augments wheelchair users’ experience.

Romo L.K., Alvarez C., Taussig M.R.

Being visually impaired is an inherently face threatening and potentially stigmatizing experience that can greatly affect personal relationships. Those with a visual impairment frequently miss nonverbal cues, must rely on others for transportation and other assistance, and can be overtly marked as different through their use of a cane or a guide dog. Framed by the theoretical lens of facework and using in-depth interviews of 24 visually impaired individuals, this study uncovered how people with a visual impairment engaged in facework to mitigate and remediate the low-vision-related face threats they and others experienced. Participants reported using preventive facework, including politeness and humor, as well as corrective facework (avoidance, apologies, accounts, and humor) to manage face threats. Interviewees also engaged in a new type of facework that was simultaneously corrective and preventive: future facework (education and advocacy). Findings offer practical strategies visually impaired individuals can use to ward off or repair face threatening acts, contesting stigma and potentially improving relationships and fostering allyship among sighted individuals. The study also suggests that facework be incorporated into a biopsychosocial model of disability to help combat disabling social barriers.

Lash B.N.

Chang P.F.

Individuals with invisible disabilities continually undergo decision-making processes regarding whether or not, and if so, how to disclose their disability to others. While a great deal of theorization exists regarding disclosure processes, less work has considered how and why individuals with invisible disabilities forgo the disclosure process by making the invisible visible. This study examines motivations for using tattoos as a mechanism for invisible disability disclosure among the single-sided deaf (SSD) community. Interviews with 41 individuals with SSD across the U.S. reveal a complex set of motivations for permanently and visibly disclosing invisible disability through the use of tattoos. Motivations ranged from being (1) functionally driven, such as normalizing and naturalizing disability disclosures in mixed interactions (2) identity driven, such as showing pride in their condition with the goal of de-stigmatizing SSD (3) community driven, such as educating others about SSD and increasing camaraderie within the hard-of-hearing community to (4) personally driven, such as memorializing a loss, marking the legitimacy of deafness to the self and to others, and increasing disability identification. This study contributes to existing disclosure models by considering how this emerging form of disclosure bypasses and complicates some of the foundational assumptions of disclosure decision-making processes regarding whether, to whom, and how individuals with disabilities disclose. This provides important insights regarding how disclosure decisions can be predetermined and made independent of context, situation, and relationship(s), which has several theoretical and practical implications.

Makkawy A., Long S.

Introduction: This study utilizes interpretive phenomenology to understand the experiences of people with visual impairments in the virtual workplace. As virtual work is becoming increasingly common, this investigation is timely for employment research that is especially relevant to people who are visually impaired. Methods: Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, individuals who have experienced working in the virtual workplace filled out an in-depth online questionnaire. The resulting qualitative data were analyzed and interpreted via Applied Thematic Data Analysis (ATDA). ATDA was used to transform the raw qualitative data into themes regarding the essence of the experience of being a visually impaired employee in the virtual workplace. Results: Based on the phenomenological data, three primary themes emerged: defined by blindness, technology as the catalyst of inequality, and ingenuity as efficacy.Discussion: Using co-cultural theory, in-depth interpretations of the data were conducted. Key to these interpretations were the technological and communicative structures that mute the voice of the virtual worker with visual impairment and the experiential factors, with special attention to inaccessible technology, that shape the unique standpoint of the virtual worker who has visual impairment. Implications for practitioners: Both theoretical and applied implications are presented. This study takes note of the social factors that surround the navigation of the workplace with a focus on how communicating about access, advocating for accessibility, and requesting assistive technology are embedded in a larger conversation of culture and societal norms of employment. Accessibility is discussed as both a technical and social challenge. This consideration of accessibility is crucial in current and future workplaces where even the simplest task is to be completed via a technological tool.

Lash B.N., Helme D.W.

Stigma can negatively affect the lives and the relationships of those who are stigmatized. This study examines one such population that is often stigmatized, individuals with hearing loss. Through ...

Zengaro E., Carmack H.J., Buzzelli N., Towery N.A.

College students often struggle with the decision to disclose personal health information to their instructors. Students have to weigh the benefits and risks of disclosing personal health information to their instructors. Guided by Communication Privacy Management Theory, this study examined the motivating factors that contribute to students' disclosure of personal health information to their instructors. Undergraduate students (N = 52) participated in focus groups that discussed disclosing personal health information to faculty. Findings indicated that three motivating factors drive students' disclosure of personal health information to instructors: (a) grades, (b) relational development and investment, and (c) a desire to save face with their instructors. These motivations have implications for how students and faculty communicate about personal health information.

McRae L., Ellis K., Kent M., Locke K.

For people with disabilities, the smartphone offers ways to radically rewrite and transform everyday life with the design of accessible interfaces, platforms, and software. Research into these experiences are limited. In Perth, Western Australia, a research project into how people with disabilities use their smartphones to navigate around urban spaces struck difficulty when participants who had signed up for the study were fully briefed on the project receiving the highest level of ethics clearance and who were able to opt out at any stage resisted having data collected that would track how they used their phones for the purposes of understanding their movement around their environment. The impact of a series of Facebook privacy scandals – not least of which was the Cambridge Analytica incident – along with other recent privacy violation revelations such as those made by Edward Snowden all served to make participants wary of sharing their data with the researchers. People with disabilities consistently engage in privacy management in their daily lives as they encounter professionals, friends, and strangers who press up against the privacy barriers that able-bodied people take for granted. While Big Data and digital ethnographies are seen to be a boon for contemporary researchers who might leverage the detailed and diverse data that digital devices can track and tether, this paper considers the intersections of data, privacy, disability, and digitization to unpack the anxieties and ambivalences of using smart systems to conduct research.

Landqvist M., Nikolaidou Z.

In this paper we examine how traditional views of normality are negotiated, indorsed and resisted when talking about children with heart defects. Having as a starting point an ethnographic project ...

Makkawy A., Moreman S.T.

ABSTRACTThis critical communication pedagogy study consists of a cripistemological analysis of two prominent communication theory textbooks to better understand the nondisableist assumptions embedd...