ERIC Number: EJ1109977
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Aug
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1934-9491
EISSN: N/A
"My Voice Counts, Too": Voting Participation among Individuals with Intellectual Disability
Agran, Martin; MacLean, William E., Jr.; Arden Kitchen, Katherine Anne
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, v54 n4 p285-294 Aug 2016
Despite a strong societal commitment to ensuring that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) fully participate in their communities, few people with ID vote. Little is known about voting experiences from the perspective of people with ID. In-person, semistructured interviews were conducted with 28 adults with ID (M[subscript age] = 37 years) to obtain their input on voting. Constant comparison and content analysis methods were used to characterize themes. Results indicated that people with ID are interested in voting and desire to be included in the voting process yet receive little education on political issues or on how to make voting-related decisions. Support from family or service providers and self-advocacy facilitated their ability to vote. Implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Descriptors: Voting, Citizen Participation, Intellectual Disability, Adults, Semi Structured Interviews, Grounded Theory, Content Analysis, Political Issues, Decision Making, Self Advocacy, Family Relationship
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. P.O. Box 1897, Lawrence, KS 66044-1897. Tel: 785-843-1235; Fax: 785-843-1274; e-mail: AJMR@allenpress.com; Web site: http://www.aaiddjournals.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A