Self-protective thoughts of women with physical disabilities regarding interactions with nondisabled people.
Item
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Title
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Self-protective thoughts of women with physical disabilities regarding interactions with nondisabled people.
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Identifier
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AAI9530885
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identifier
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9530885
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Creator
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Joseph, Robert Michael.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Charles P. Smith
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Personality | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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Previous studies have documented that discomfort is experienced by participants in interactions between people with and without disabilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate conceptualizations of these interactions. It was proposed that when people with disabilities are faced with an interaction with nondisabled people they will anticipate that the interaction may be discomforting. They are likely to respond with self-protective thoughts concerning (a) defensive withdrawal to avoid rejection, (b) defensive role playing, and (c) defensive denigration. Although such thoughts may help the person with a disability avoid the pain of rejection, they may also limit any potential for positive interaction.;Self-protective thoughts and affiliative tendencies were investigated by means of thematic apperceptive stories and questions about the stories. The 138 female volunteers (69 with cerebral palsy, and 69 nondisabled comparison subjects) made up stories to pictures that depict potential mixed interactions (between characters with and without disabilities), or potential uniform interactions (between characters of the same disability status). Stories were scored for self-protective thoughts, and for intimacy motivation, need for affiliation, fear of rejection, and affiliative mistrust.;The results revealed that subjects with disabilities conceptualized a significantly greater difference in the expected direction between uniform and mixed interaction pictures than did nondisabled subjects with respect to: (a) negative affect (one aspect of defensive withdrawal to avoid rejection), (b) intimacy motivation, and (c) need for affiliation. In response to questions about their stories, subjects with disabilities attributed significantly more feelings of rejection and role playing to characters with disabilities in the mixed interaction pictures than in the uniform interaction pictures. Nondisabled subjects did not differentiate between the conditions, except for attributing significantly more role playing to nondisabled characters in the mixed interaction pictures than in the uniform interaction pictures. There was no evidence for the defensive denigration self-protective thought.;Implications of these findings for interactions between people with and without disabilities, and a new approach to scoring thematic apperceptive stories are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
