Doctoral Dissertation Research: Legal Consciousness and 'Invisible Disability'

本研究考察了对法律的日常理解、残疾的构建以及经历偶发性、非明显损伤或有时被称为“无形残疾”的损伤的个人的污名管理。这项研究考察了成年人如何拥有？残疾管理（或避免）残疾披露，以便协商工作场所的住宿条件。鉴于与他们的缺陷相关的症状的不同频率和严重程度，这些个人（以及他们工作的机构）可能会或可能不会根据《美国残疾人法》（ADA）规定的定义将自己视为“残疾人”。因此，这些人经常发现自己处于一种生理上、社会上和法律上的限制状态或“中间状态”。本研究采用深度访谈的方式收集数据，以满足以下四个研究目标：1)分析非明显、偶发性损伤的人如何概念化“残疾”。2)记录这些人用来获得工作场所便利的策略（公开的和隐蔽的）。3)识别披露决策中使用的话语框架。4)检查对法律的看法如何影响这些决定。本研究从残疾的社会而非医学模型的理论框架出发，在智力上建立并补充了关于残疾人权利动员和管理污名化身份的社会学理解的研究。研究结果将通过检查那些可能或可能不选择采用这种身份的人的披露决定，并通过确定人们用来管理被污名化的身份和支持这些谈判的权力动态的策略，促进我们对残疾的社会建构本质的理解。研究结果将对研究人员和经历这种现象的人产生更广泛的影响。这项研究不仅将产生与残疾人相关的理论发现，还将产生与其他弱势群体相关的理论发现，这些群体必须披露被污名化的身份，才能从法律中受益。研究结果也将分发给宣传组织和工业团体，为维持和增加工作场所和公共机构的多样性提供具体途径。

This study examines everyday understandings of the law, the construction of disability, and stigma management among individuals who experience episodic, non-evident impairment, or impairments  sometimes  referred  to  as  "invisible  disabilities". This study examines how adults who  have  ?invisible?  impairments  manage  (or  avoid)  disability  disclosure  in  order  to  negotiate   workplace accommodations. Given the varied frequency and severity of symptoms associated with their impairments, these individuals (and the institutions in which they work) may or may not  see  themselves  as  "disabled"  according  to  the  definition  the  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act   (ADA) provides. As  a  result,  these  individuals  often  find  themselves  in  a  state  of  liminality  or  "in   betweenness"- physiologically, socially, and legally. The study employs in-depth interviewing to collect data appropriate to address four research aims: 1) Provide an analysis of how people with non-evident,  episodic  impairment  conceptualize  "disability".  2)  Document  strategies  (both   overt and covert) these individuals use to acquire workplace accommodations. 3) Identify discursive frames used in disclosure decision-making. 4) Examine how perceptions of the law shape these decisions. Starting from the theoretical framework of the social, rather than medical, model of disability, this study intellectually builds upon and adds to research on disability rights mobilization and sociological understandings of managing stigmatized identities. Findings will advance our understanding of the socially constructed nature of disability by examining disclosure decisions by those who may or may not choose to adopt this status, and by identifying the tactics people use to manage stigmatized identities and the power dynamics that underpin those negotiations. Research findings will have broader impacts for both those who study and those who experience this phenomenon. This study will generate theoretical findings relevant to not only people with disabilities, but also to other vulnerable populations who must disclose a stigmatized status in order to benefit from the law. Study results will also be disseminated to advocacy organizations and industry groups, providing concrete avenues for maintaining and increasing diversity in work places and public institutions.