Disability and Community Life: Does Regional Living Enhance Social Participation?
Author(s)
McPhedran, Samara
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2011
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
It is well documented that disability can be associated with exclusion from full participation in education and employment. This may in turn affect the overall well-being and life satisfaction of people with disability. Less clear are the ways in which location may affect social participation and access to social support among people with disability. Although it has been argued that regional or rural living facilitates social connectedness and access to social support, the validity of this theory in the context of disability has not been assessed. This study investigates different types of community involvement, levels of ...
View more >It is well documented that disability can be associated with exclusion from full participation in education and employment. This may in turn affect the overall well-being and life satisfaction of people with disability. Less clear are the ways in which location may affect social participation and access to social support among people with disability. Although it has been argued that regional or rural living facilitates social connectedness and access to social support, the validity of this theory in the context of disability has not been assessed. This study investigates different types of community involvement, levels of perceived social support, and self-reported life satisfaction among regional people with disability relative to their counterparts living in major cities. Regional people with disability report higher involvement in volunteer work, more frequent attendance at community events, and stronger feelings of being part of their community, which partially supports the hypothesis that location and social participation are related. The findings show that despite greater relative socioeconomic disadvantage regional living can be associated with enhanced social connectedness.
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View more >It is well documented that disability can be associated with exclusion from full participation in education and employment. This may in turn affect the overall well-being and life satisfaction of people with disability. Less clear are the ways in which location may affect social participation and access to social support among people with disability. Although it has been argued that regional or rural living facilitates social connectedness and access to social support, the validity of this theory in the context of disability has not been assessed. This study investigates different types of community involvement, levels of perceived social support, and self-reported life satisfaction among regional people with disability relative to their counterparts living in major cities. Regional people with disability report higher involvement in volunteer work, more frequent attendance at community events, and stronger feelings of being part of their community, which partially supports the hypothesis that location and social participation are related. The findings show that despite greater relative socioeconomic disadvantage regional living can be associated with enhanced social connectedness.
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Journal Title
Journal of Disability Policy Studies
Volume
22
Issue
1
Subject
Policy and administration
Policy and administration not elsewhere classified
Sociology