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"Disability is not inability, it is just very hard to live with": A qualitative study of how people with physicaldisabilities create their identities in Kenya
University West, Department of Social and Behavioural Studies, Division of Social Pedagogy and Sociology.
2014 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Background:Disability is experienced by over a billion people in the world, and they are usually placed on the bottom of the pile if you look at people living in extreme poverty, which is a problem in a development country as Kenya. Generally people with disabilities have fewer economic opportunities, poorer health and lower education achievements than people without disabilities.This is due to the many obstacles and the lack of services available that they face in their daily lives, which create social exclusion from the society. People with disabilities are often seen as a stigmatized group in the society, something that will affect the construction of their identities. Aim and purpose:This study has three principal aims: To highlight and describe the situation of select people with physical disabilities in Kenya; to discuss whether having a physical disability affects their lives;and if so, in what way. Method:The method that has been used for the study was qualitative research method. An interview guide with open-ended questions for semi-structured interviews was conducted. The data was collected by seven individual interviews, five men and two women. Interpretative phenomenological analysis by Jonathan A Smith was used as analysis method for the study. Categories were conducted from the transcriptions of the interviews, and then four different themes appeared that was used to analyze the material. Result:The results of the analysis is presenting that their identities are getting affected by having aphysical disability. Since the social constructionism was the theoretical approach for the study the believe is that the identity is created by interactions with other people. Within a lot of the interactions you either establish your identity or get it disproved. With the stigmatization in the society according to people with disabilities the interactions with a lot of people may will disprove your identity. Categorization and discrimination are also affecting the construction ofthe identity. All the informants explain how they feel that they belong and feel secure by being in social groups with other people with disabilities, which I would call empowerment. By being empowered they can establish the identity they feel comfortable with, not the one the society gives to them by categorization and stigma.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. , p. 33
Keywords [en]
Physical disability, social constructionism, social identity, categorization, stigma
National Category
Sociology Social Work
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-6788Local ID: ESC500OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-6788DiVA, id: diva2:753970
Subject / course
Social pedagogy
Educational program
Socialpedagogik
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2014-10-10 Created: 2014-10-09 Last updated: 2014-10-10Bibliographically approved

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