Abstract
This chapter defines concepts related to diversity and summarizes a foundational framework in the field of rehabilitation counseling that conceptualizes disparities in the disability community. It provides an extensive overview of different cultural perspectives of disability for each of the main racial and ethnic groups represented in the United States. This is followed by documented disparities found in research literature for each racial and ethnic groups in intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, and/or physical disabilities. The cultural aspects of culturally diverse racial and ethnic people with disabilities are summarized. Brief suggestions are provided to deliver culturally responsive services. The future research directions section suggests that since cultural competence is evolving, it is important to acknowledge the expansion of the definition of culture and provide more rigorous research to address the intersectionality of cultural concepts, as well as mixed methodology and qualitative research to provide a rich description of the multicultural and disability experience.
TopChapter Highlights
Race, Ethnicity, and Disabilities
- 1.
The fifth domain of the disability disparities model deals with internal factors related to unconscious bias, views on disability, service experience, and includes service access which leads to outcomes adjusted for different severity levels and accurately measured using objective and subjective measures that are free from cultural bias and highlights an individual’s cultural point of view.
- 2.
When examining the different perspectives of disability, the uniqueness of each cultural group is typically why views of disability vary.
- 3.
The highest prevalence of observed cumulative lifetime mental health disorders for people who are AI/AN is substance use disorder.
- 4.
The biggest reasons that Black and Latinx adults with IDD face poor health are they “do not like/trust doctors,” “do not use doctors,” and “do not know where to get care.”
- 5.
An important concept in the Hispanic community called the “Hispanic paradox”, where despite living in harsher conditions and having disadvantaged risk profile, they appear to have a mortality advantage.
- 6.
Analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data in Hawaii found that the prevalence of severe or moderately severe depression was 4.8% among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, almost twice as high as the state prevalence (2.7%) and three times higher than the prevalence for Asians in Hawai’i.
- 7.
While there has been an increased focus on the awareness of cultural diversity in healthcare, this remains limited in the area of disability and rehabilitation services.
- 8.
There needs to be more research that examines outcomes among the different racial and ethnic subgroups, such as Black and White Hispanic.
- 9.
The United States is considered a race-conscious society and skin color is shown to be a strong predictor of opportunity and health.
Learning Objectives
In this chapter, the author aims to:
- 1.
Provide a theoretical framework to conceptualize disability disparities.
- 2.
Describe the disability experience among different racial and ethnic groups.
- 3.
Explain how race, ethnicity, cultural values, and cultural beliefs intersect with disability outcomes.
- 4.
Provide recommendations from a multicultural perspective to address inequities and racial bias.
TopIntroduction
The term diversity is complex and represents many different dimensions. Diversity includes race and ethnicity, among others characteristics, as primary components of its conceptualization. There is a strong link between diversity, social justice, and disability that all mental health and rehabilitation counselors working with diverse populations should recognize and acknowledge. An important issue in rehabilitation psychology, for example, examines diversity and social justice in the context of disability research and referred to the topic as the “heart and soul” of the field (Perrin, 2019, p. 105). This is a clear example of how other rehabilitation professionals are recognizing the importance of the intersectionality of these dimensions in their perspective fields in order to provide future implications to be used to enhance social justice, access to services, and advocacy for diverse people with disabilities (PWDs). This is just as important in the mental health and counseling field.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Disability: A short-term, long-term or chronic condition of the body or mind that make it difficult to perform everyday activities and interact with people.
Ethnicity: A social construct that refers to racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, cultural origin and background.
Diversity: Seen and unseen elements that make individuals different from one another based on a number of characteristics inherited or adopted.
Racial: A social construct used to identify a group of people with distinct phenotypical traits.
Multiculturalism: The acknowledgment of distinct racial, ethnic, and cultural groups without placing value and providing support and perspective in a just in fair way.
Psychological Distress: A high level of feelings and emotions that manifest in symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders.
Intersectionality: The understanding of how multiple social and political identities combine to influence systems of inequality.
Social Justice: Fair and equitable distribution of opportunities to grow educational, financial, and professional status.