Self-identifying as disabled could lead to pride, aid overall well-being

While only 12 percent of people with a health condition agreed or strongly agreed that they were a person with a disability, the researchers found that experiencing stigma, along with severity of the impairment, were the biggest factors influencing whether someone with a disability identified that way.

In the second study, designed to look further at the role disability pride plays in overall well-being for people with disabilities, the researchers used the same set of about 700 survey participants from the previous study, but looked at additional questions, by analyzing factors that influence whether someone has pride in their disability.

They found that disability pride tended to be more prevalent among those who experience stigma, those who have strong social support and people of color; and that people experiencing greater stigma seemed to lead to more pride, and greater pride was associated with greater self-esteem.

The findings support "the idea that the concept of disability is primarily a social construct, developed by society's reaction to that impairment," Bogart was quoted as saying in a news release. "It's the way people treat you and the way society builds an environment that does or does not include you."

However, she believes that developing pride in the disability and rejecting the stigma of society shows promise as a way to protect against stigma and build self-esteem.

"Disability pride is still a rare thing," she acknowledged. "Developing disability pride seems to protect self-esteem against the negative effects of stigma. It's a really valuable protection for people with disabilities."

"A logical next step for the research would be to develop interventions designed to boost disability pride among people with disabilities and at a policy level, with the goal of improving overall well-being and reducing stigma."