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Adjusting the “self” in social interaction: Disability and stigmatization in India

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  • Kayama, Misa
  • Johnstone, Christopher
  • Limaye, Sandhya

Abstract

Around the world, stigmatization associated with disability poses persistent challenges to individuals’ social interactions and their experience of the “self”. This qualitative study examines how youth have experienced their own disabilities and self as they transition into adulthood and navigate stigmatization in their everyday interactions with others in India. Stigmatization associated with disability in India is reinforced by its highly structured, hierarchical social systems, including the caste system. Examining the experiences of stigmatization and self by people with disabilities in India illuminates the challenges arising from the intersection of disability and social status. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 25 youth and adults with visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities. Cross-case analyses of 25 interviews revealed that participants consistently described different experiences of self and disability in various social contexts, including home, school, and work. Participants described how they adjusted their presentations of “self” in social interactions relative to others’ displays of any stigmatization. We also present comparative case study analyses to contextualize participants’ experiences by illustrating how they adjust their presentations of self in everyday social interactions focusing on four participants who vary in gender, age of onset and type of disability, and family income. The experiences of individuals with disabilities in India provide scholars and professionals around the world with insights into expanding theories of disability and self to include more fully the social construction of disability and intersectionality with other social positions such as social class and gender, and developing stigma-sensitive approaches to supporting people with disabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Kayama, Misa & Johnstone, Christopher & Limaye, Sandhya, 2019. "Adjusting the “self” in social interaction: Disability and stigmatization in India," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 463-474.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:96:y:2019:i:c:p:463-474
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.11.047
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haight, Wendy & Kayama, Misa & Ku, May-Lee (Mary) & Cho, Minhae & Lee, Hee Yun, 2016. "Perspectives of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on disability, stigmatization and children's developing self Part 1: Defining the problem in cultural context," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 214-228.
    2. Kayama, Misa & Haight, Wendy, 2018. "Balancing the stigmatization risks of disability labels against the benefits of special education: Japanese parents' perceptions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 43-53.
    3. Yang, Lawrence Hsin & Kleinman, Arthur & Link, Bruce G. & Phelan, Jo C. & Lee, Sing & Good, Byron, 2007. "Culture and stigma: Adding moral experience to stigma theory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 1524-1535, April.
    4. Kayama, Misa & Haight, Wendy & Ku, May Lee & Cho, Minhae & Lee, Hee Yun, 2016. "Perspectives of elementary school educators in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US on disability, stigmatization and children's developing self," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 403-418.
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