The Development of Disability in Community Psychology Research
Presented by Robert E. Gutierrez& Christopher B. Keys
Department of PsychologyDePaul University
AbstractAs in many fields, conceptualizations of disability have shifted and evolved within the field of community psychology. The current study aimed to capture the historic inclusion of disability groups over the first 35 years of community psychology research. Articles published in the American Journal of Community Psychology and the Journal of Community Psychology from 1973 to 2007 were coded for the inclusion of research populations within a broad definition of disabilities. In order to capture studies which include persons with disabilities as well as studies of services for persons with disabilities, regardless of the articles definition of disability or lack thereof, the current study included any article which fit its broad definition. This included articles dealing with, sensory, developmental, physical and cognitive disabilities. The resulting findings demonstrate the evolution not only of concepts of disability but of community psychology as a field.
Disability as Human Diversity
Traditionally disability has largely been ignored as a component of diversity and instead has been addressed solely from a medical or rehabilitation approach.
Researchers have pointed out mainstream psychology's failure to consider disability populations in an inclusive, productive manner as well as the potential for community psychology as a perfect venue for such an undertaking (Dowrick & Keys, 2001; Lawthom & Goodley, 2005)
The StudyA group of coders examined each article of AJCP and JCP from 1975 to 2005 for the population served.
•This coding utilized an emergent coding scheme•Coders recorded the each article’s participants and/or service recipients•These codes were later aggregated into more generalizable codes representing populations •Inclusion criteria-- Articles included:
▫ One or more disability populations or▫ services targeted towards a disability population.
Traditional Disability PopulationsIncluded in the articles coded for disability populations and services
4 “traditional” disability populations arose:
1.Cognitive developmental disabilities (45 articles)2.Physical disabilities (20 articles) 3.Sensory disabilities (3 articles) 4.Disabilities not otherwise specified (8 articles)
Discussed disabilities in general or generalized across disability populations
Based on these 4 populations, disabilities comprises less than 3% of the total community psychology literature (77 articles)
Cognitive/Developmental Disabilities
Number of Articles
Percent of Cognitive/Developmental Disability Articles
Total Cognitive and Developmental 45 100%People with Developmental Disabilities
30 65.22%
People with Learning Disabilities 8 17.39%People with Intellectual Disabilities 6 15.22%People with Brain Damage 1 2.17%
Cognitive/developmental disabilities made up• 1.50% all community psychology
literature • 58.44% of articles coded for disability
Physical Disabilities•Made up only 0.67% of all community
articles •Represented a quarter of all disability
articles•Only half dealt with a specific physical
disability
Number of Articles
Percent of Physical Disability Articles
Total Physical Disability 20 People with Physical Handicaps(not otherwise specified)
10 50.00%
People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 3 15.00%People Musculoskeletal Disorders 2 10.00%People with Obesity 2 10.00%People with Multiple Sclerosis 1 5.00%People with Spina Bifida 1 5.00%People with Fibromyalgia Syndrome 1 5.00%
Sensory Disabilities•The smallest sector of the disability
literature •Only 3 articles appeared in AJCP and JCP
between 1973 and 2007 specifically addressed sensory disabilities.▫2 on deafness ▫1 on blindness
Inclusion over Time
Intersection Domains Number of Articles
Gender and Physical Disability 5Race and Cognitive/Developmental Disability 2
Race, Gender, and Disability 2Gender and Disability (General) 1Race and Disability (General) 1Race, Gender, and Cognitive/Developmental Disability 1Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Disability 1Total Intersections 13
Disability & Other Domains of Diversity
Of all articles focused on disability populations, only 17% dealt with other domains of diversity as well.
Discussion: Understanding Community Psychology’s inclusion of disabilities
Cognitive and developmental disabilities’ decrease over time seems to mirror two larger developments
1.The funding for deinstitutionalization and developing community services available in the 70s and early 80s.
2.Community Psychology’s divergence from clinical psychology
Reflection: Understanding Community Psychology’s inclusion of disabilities
Overall inclusion of disabilities has decreased over the last 10 years
•The decrease in cognitive/developmental disabilities does not, by itself, explain the overall decline•The growth and decline of physical disabilities
• ADA Battles?• Community Psychology membership• Disability Studies
Moving Forward• This study does not address the inclusion of
psycho-emotional disabilities and services• An inclusive definition of disabilities would
include these populations, however they represent a number of conceptual challenges.
• With this in mind, future studies hope to; ▫ Build an understanding of community
psychology’s inclusion of psycho-emotional disabilities
▫ Illuminate the role of disability perspectives within community psychology’s inclusion of mental health populations and services
ReferencesDowrick, P. W. and Keys, C. B (2001). Community psychology and disability studies. Journal
of
Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 21(2), 1-14.
Blanchett, W. J., Klingner, J. K. and Harry, D. (2009). The intersection of race, culture,
language, and disability: Implications for urban education. Urban Education, 44,
389-409.
Harper, D. (1991). Paradigms for investigating rehabilitation and adaptation to childhood
disability and chronic illness. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 16, 533–542.
Lawthom, R. and Goodley, D. (2005). Community psychology: Towards an empowering
vision of
disability. The Community Psychologist, 18(7), 423-425.
McDonald, K. E., Keys, C.B., & Balcazar, F. E. (2007). Disability, race/ethnicity and gender:
Themes of cultural oppression, acts of individual resistance. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 39(1-2), 145-161.
Miles, M. B. and Huberman, M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded
Sourcebook. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Olkin, R. and Pledger, C. (2003). Can disability studies and psychology join hands? The
American
Psychologist, 58 (4), 296.
Ryan, G.W. and Bernard, H.R. (2003) 'Techniques to Identify Themes, Field Methods,
15(1): 85-109.