CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 189Disability Rights and RepresentationInclusion and Disability in Education and SportDisability Education and Employment

Out of the Disability Closet: Strategic use of perception management by select university students with disabilities

OLNEY, MARJORIE F., BROCKELMAN, KARIN F.·2003·Disability & Society
DOI 10.1080/713662200
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This study examines the ways in which university students with apparent and hidden disabilities actively manage the perceptions of others. Interview data were collected and analysed by theme. Students indicated that they valued their own experience of disability, but were aware that knowledge of their disability altered the behaviors of others toward them. Whereas some perception management strategies have previously been called denial and 'passing,' for our participants these behaviors constituted a set of interpersonal skills. Participants evaluated themselves positively while struggling to project an image as complex individuals rather than stereotypes. Within deviance theory, passing as non-disabled has been conceptualised as a reactive social behavior that is motivated by low self-regard or fear. Our findings do not support this model. We, therefore, examine perception management within the framework of social identity theory.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/713662200

Cites

31 of 31 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The camouflaging process described by participants represents a dynamic and sophisticated means of influencing and shaping the social environment that bears resemblance to the repertoire of behaviours described in the stigma management literature.

    “Indeed, the camouflaging process described by our participants represents a dynamic and sophisticated means of influencing and shaping the social environment that bears resemblance to the repertoire of behaviours described in the stigma management literature (e.g. Clair et al., 2005; Olney & Brockelman, 2003; Pachankis & Goldfried, 2006).”

    From Camouflaging in an everyday social context: An interpersonal recall study (2021) · cites this paper as Olney & Brockelman, 2003

  • Individuals with concealable stigmas use identity or impression management strategies to conceal their stigmatised identity and pass as a more valued identity, thereby securing acceptance and belonging.

    “Individuals with concealable stigmas (e.g. mental illness diagnosis, particular sexual orientations or a history of incarceration; Goffman, 1963; Jones et al., 1984) use identity or impression management strategies to control their interactions with others in order to conceal their stigmatised identity and pass as a more valued identity, thereby securing the acceptance and belonging of others (e.g”

    From Camouflaging in an everyday social context: An interpersonal recall study (2021) · cites this paper as Olney & Brockelman, 2003

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
OLNEY, M. F., & BROCKELMAN, K. F.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
Venue
Disability & Society
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2003-01
Volume
18
Issue
1
Pages
35-50
ISSN
  • 0267-4645 (ISSN-L)
  • 0968-7599
  • 1360-0508
DOI
10.1080/713662200
OpenAlex
W2110383070
Cited by
189
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
FWCI
9.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Disability & Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Education and Employment
Keywords
perception management, students with disabilities, passing, denial, deviance theory, social identity theory, disability stereotypes, social skills, self-perception, university students

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review