HAVING, BEING, AND LIVING: STORIES OF DISABILITY BY WOMEN ATHLETES AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY

Abstract

Current research on women athletes’ experiences of psychosocial adaptation following spinal cord injury (SCI) remains limited, as highlighted by a recent systematic review (Zike et al., 2024). This research gap is significant, as women encounter distinct societal challenges stemming from overlapping systems of oppression, such as ableism and sexism (Garland-Thomson, 2001). The purpose of this research was to explore experiences of psychosocial adaptation to acquired disability in women athletes after SCI by documenting the meaning of (a) having a disability, (b) being disabled, and (c) living with disability in an ableist world. Study one aimed to explore the disability narratives of women athletes after SCI and document the meanings they attribute to experiences of psychosocial adaptation to acquired disability. Employing a narrative inquiry approach (Riessman, 2008), nine participants completed a virtual, semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed using an iterative, inductive, dual-narrative process consisting of both categorical-content and structural analysis (Lieblich et al., 1998). Four narrative types were identified: (a) Attachment to a Nondisabled Past, (b) Push for Recovery, (c) Embracing Life Without Embracing Disability, and (d) Transformation Through Shared Experience. Study two provided women athletes with SCIs a visual voice to capture the elements that shape their everyday life experience of (a) having a disability, (b) being disabled, and (c) living with disability in the community. Employing a Photovoice approach (Wang & Burris, 1997), six participants captured photographic images with personal cameras to illustrate the meaning of disability in their everyday lives. After two weeks of photo-taking, participants completed a virtual semi-structured interview to discuss the meanings represented in the images. The data were analyzed using Tsang’s (2020) Photovoice data analysis method. Eight themes were captured: (a) Taking Care of the Disabled Body, (b) Continuity and Attachment, (c) The Disability Tax, (d) Adaptations, (e) Interpersonal Connections, (f) Environmental Accessibility, and (g) Feeling Like a Disabled Person, and (h) Gratitude. The results from studies one and two emphasize the complexity of the disability experience by characterizing it as multidimensional, dynamic, situational, contextual, and social-relational in nature. The results show that having a disability means embodying disability stigma and demonstrate the autonomous agency of women athletes as they navigate living with disability. The results also illustrate the interconnectedness of having a disability, being disabled, and living with disability, stressing the need to understand these components collectively when exploring psychosocial adaptation experiences related to acquired disability.