Abstract
Mixed-method analysis of advocacy projects were created by college students with learning and attention disorders (L/AD). Articulated textual messaging of disability informed a theoretical model of identity development for young adults of L/AD and were used to test for changes over time. Statistically significant results indicate positive changes in disability identity level over time and suggest students may benefit from holistic campus-based disability supports during this critical transitional time point.
Primary Author and Speaker: Consuelo Kreider
Additional Authors and Speakers: Claudia Luna
Contributing Authors: Mei-Fang Lan, Chang-Yu Wu, Susan Percival, Charles Byrd
Experiences related to activity and participation, in combination with appraisal of strengths, challenges, and performance, are integral to development of personal identity. Individuals with learning and/or attention disorders (L/AD) face disability-related activity and participation challenges. Identity formation during the transition to adulthood is critical for establishing a meaningful self-concept; it influences goals and desires, and thus occupations and well-being. Understanding identity development in relation to disability is important for facilitating the engagement and performance of youth with disabilities who are transitioning to adult roles and contexts. Understanding of disability identity is limited with no consensus model existing for its development. This study examines disability identity development and changes in disability identity of college students who received campus-based academic and psychosocial supports for their L/AD.
Participants were 52 undergraduates registered with the campus disability office who were eligible for L/AD accommodations and recruited with disability office assistance. Participants were enrolled for up to two years as part of a larger research study that tested multi-component model for holistic campus-based L/AD supports. A component of study activities was the creation of projects that could be used to promote awareness of L/AD. Participants were engaged in development of project each semester for up to four semesters. Participants were instructed that the projects could be created in any medium (e.g., artwork, brochures, videos), should reflect aspects of L/AD that the student wanted others to better understand, and that projects were intended for dissemination without personal identification or attribution for the work. A title and short description of each project was also submitted. A two-step sequential mix-methods design was used to develop a model of disability identity development and then test for changes in disability identity ratings.
Data were textual titles, textual descriptions, and submission time points from a total of 102 projects. Affective coding and thematic analysis was used to identify disability identity categories. Dimensional analysis was used to establish an ordered continuum, which was triangulated with published stage models of disability identity development (Gibson, 2006; Higgins, Raskind, Goldberg, & Herman, 2002; Forber-Pratt & Zape, 2017). Ordered categories were assigned numerical ratings and Wilcoxon signed rank test used to assess changes in disability identity ratings when comparing ratings from initial projects to projects submitted at the time point furthest from the initial project.
A continuum model of disability identity development for college students with L/AD was created from the data with the categories ordered and assigned a corresponding numerical rating as follows: Disconnected = 1, Connecting to Self = 2, Pros and Cons = 3, Positive = 4, and Connecting to Society = 5. Significant increases in disability identity ratings (z = -3.152, p = .002) were observed.
Findings advance conceptualization of existing disability identity development frameworks by extending the pinnacle of disability identity development from identification with the disability group to identifying as a societal member whose L/AD is only one facet the personal identity. Positive shifts in disability identity ratings suggest that benefits to students may be realized from provision of holistic campus-based supports for L/AD that incorporate facilitation of advocacy occupations. Discerning and incorporating disability identity factors into research is important for advancing development of occupational therapy practice.
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