SELF-REPRESENTATIONS AND PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT - A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH

In this paper a social constructionist approach is used to frame an an alysis of the effects of physical impairment on self-perception. The r esults are reported of a recent study in which questionnaires were mai led to 314 people who were paraplegic and 284 who were post-polio, as well as to a control group of 327 who had no visible physical impairme nts. While the people who were paraplegic and those who made up the co ntrol group gave similar answers to most of the survey questions, thos e who were post-polio displayed a consistent, but different, way of re porting on their self-representations. Moreover, this discourse, which included such self-described characteristics as self-control, a sense of duty, and a concern for meticulousness, was consistent in the post -polio group across sex and age. It is concluded that the date of onse t of physical impairment is significant in influencing the self-repres entation of persons with physical impairments. The socio-historical ev olution of social practices and cultural expectations and norms with r espect to persons with disabilities in Western cultures were taken int o account in interpreting the results of this survey.