An Exploration of the Identities of Women with Down's Syndrome
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What It Means to Be a Woman: A Qualitative Exploration of the Individual and Shared Identities of Women with Down’s Syndrome.
IRAS ID
171924
Contact name
Emma Groves
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research suggests that failing to develop or commit to an identity is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes such as; higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of satisfaction with life. Individuals with disabilities develop their identities in response to a number of hierarchical values set by able-bodied populations. As a result, often these individuals may develop a sense of disability pride, on the other hand some deny their disability and make attempts to hide it. Further research suggests that those with hidden disabilities, such as learning disabilities, are more likely to attempt to hide their disability to fit in with society. Thus, it is possible that these individuals are at higher risk of the aforementioned negative psychosocial outcomes. Down’s Syndrome, although it comes under the umbrella term of ‘learning disabilities,’ is also a visible disability. Little research has examined how those with Down’s Syndrome construct their identity in light of this, and the small amount of research that has attempted to explore this, predominantly focuses on men. The proposed research aims to understand how women with Down’s Syndrome conceptualise their identity as a woman. Only women over the age of 18 will take part, with no upper age limit. They will be recruited from community learning disability teams. This is a qualitative study in which participants will be invited to take part in semi-structured interviews in NHS premises that they are familiar with. These interviews will be audio recorded and participants will be invited to discuss the key findings at a later stage. The research project is expected to last approximately a year from first contacting participants to the final write up.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
15/WS/0100
Date of REC Opinion
21 May 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion