Ableist Microaggressions and Psychological Distress Among Adults With Disabilities: The Role of Disability Visibility

Purpose/Objective: Experiences of disability-based discrimination among adults with disabilities (AWD) span individual, interpersonal, and structural domains that are implicated in mental health disparities. Ableist microaggressions, a subtle and contemporary form of disability-based discrimination, are positively associated with psychological distress. Additionally, disability characteristics may impact mental health outcomes differently. This study investigated (a) the association between lifetime experiences of ableist microaggressions and psychological distress and (b) the moderating effect of disability visibility. Research Method/Design: A cross-sectional survey-based online study through Amazon's Mechanical Turk was conducted among 995 AWD whose ages ranged from 18 to 70 (M = 34.73, SD = 9.45). Results: After adjusting for confounds linear regression analyses revealed a significant, positive relationship between ableist microaggressions and depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Models explained approximately 18%-23% of the variance in psychological distress. Moderation analyses indicated that associations were stronger among participants with less visible disabilities. Conclusions/Implications: Findings underscore disability visibility as an important correlate in AWD mental health disparities. Results should be interpreted within the scope of the sampling procedures and sample demographics.