Perceived Interpersonal Mistreatment and Inequality in Childcare Among Parents with Physical Disabilities

Background and Purpose: Individuals with physical disabilities have been historically mistreated by discrimination, but parents with disabilities may experience additional discrimination that is not only linked to their disability but to their status as parents. They frequently report negative societal attitudes regarding their capacity to be parents, as well as stigmatized and pathologizing assumptions presupposing the negative effects of their disabilities on the development of their children. However, there is a paucity of quantitative research on stigma and discriminatory experiences of parents with physical disabilities. Using population-based national data, the aim of this study is to examine perceived interpersonal mistreatment and perceived inequality in childcare of parents with physical disabilities contrast to those without disabilities.

Methods: Using data from the first wave of the Midlife in the United States Refresher cohort, collected between 2011-2014, we identify 229 parents with physical disabilities and 632 parents without disabilities who have a child aged 18 or younger (Mean age = 40). Physical disability is defined as experiencing some or a lot of difficulties in any of nine activities of daily living such as lifting or carrying groceries, bathing or dressing, and walking a block. Perceived interpersonal mistreatment assesses how often a person experiences nine types of mistreatment in his/her daily life (e.g. treated with less courtesy than other people, treated as if not as good as other people, threatened or harassed). Perceived inequality in childcare is a composite score measuring the extent to which individuals have an awareness of an unequal distribution of resources and abilities to provide for their children (e.g. shame and embarrassment due to a child’s problems; feeling good about the opportunities a parent provides for his/her child). We estimate hierarchical regression models to assess the extent to which physical disability is associated with perceived interpersonal mistreatment and inequality in childcare, adjusting for confounding variables.

Results: Compared with parents without disabilities, parents with disabilities report more frequent encounters of mistreatment in their daily life (B = 0.11, p < .05) and higher levels of perceived inequality in childcare (B = 0.15, p < .01), net of their sociodemographic characteristics and other physical health indicators. However, the effects of having a physical disability on perceived daily discrimination and inequality in childcare become non-significant and declines by roughly 50 percent after adjusting for mental health indicators, especially negative affect, which is known to be a consequence of disablement and may render one particularly sensitive to unpleasant encounters and negative attitudes.

Conclusion and Implications: Parents with disabilities experience more frequent interpersonal mistreatment and perceive greater inequality in their childcare than non-disabled parents, although negative affect significantly attenuates the effects of disability on perceived discrimination and inequality. This finding underscores the importance of providing services and resources for parents with disabilities to meet their unique needs when they raise a child. Public education and professional training on disability and discrimination may also help to reduce the unfair treatment of them.