Doctoral Dissertation Research: Legal Consciousness and 'Invisible Disability'

这项研究探讨了日常的法律理解，残疾的建设，和耻辱管理的个人经历的偶发性，不明显的障碍，或有时被称为“无形的残疾”的障碍。这项研究探讨了成年人谁有？隐形的？ 管理（或避免）残疾披露，以便进行谈判 工作场所的住宿。根据美国残疾人法案的定义，这些人（以及他们工作的机构）可能会或可能不会将自己视为“残疾人”， (ADA)提供.因此，这些人经常发现自己处于一种边缘状态或“在 “中间性”--生理上的、社会上的和法律上的。本研究采用深入访谈的方法收集数据，以解决四个研究目标：1）提供一个分析的人与非明显的，情节性障碍的概念“残疾”。 2)记录战略（ 公开和隐蔽），这些人用来获得工作场所的住宿。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式的理论框架出发，在智力上建立并增加了对残疾人权利动员和管理污名化身份的社会学理解的研究。研究结果将推进我们对残疾的社会建构性质的理解，通过检查那些可能会或可能不会选择采用这种状态的人的披露决定，并通过确定人们用来管理污名化身份的策略和支持这些谈判的权力动态。研究结果将对学习者和经历这一现象的人产生更广泛的影响。这项研究将产生不仅与残疾人有关，而且与其他弱势群体有关的理论结果，这些人必须披露其受歧视的状况，才能从法律中受益。研究结果还将分发给宣传组织和行业团体，为保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.