Adults with Dyslexia, an Invisible Disability: The Mediational Role of Concealment on Perceived Family Support and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Living with a concealable stigmatised identity, adults with dyslexia are at risk for low self-esteem. The small but growing body of research on adults with dyslexia suggests that perceived family support has a direct influence on the self-esteem of adults with dyslexia. Understanding potential causal mechanisms underpinning the relationship between perceived family support and self-esteem is important to address the needs of this hidden population. To be sure, adults with dyslexia often face complex decisions regarding disclosure. According to theoretical and empirical literature, concealment or chronic fear of and hesitancy towards disclosing their invisible identity paves the way for negative affective states including low self-esteem. The present study examined the mediational effect of how concealment may account for the empirical link between perceived family support and self-esteem. The participants were 224 adults with dyslexia who participated in a web-based survey and predominantly resided in the USA. A bootstrapping analysis (a contemporary approach to mediational analysis) revealed that concealment mediated the relationship between perceived family support and self-esteem. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed.

Recently identified university students navigate dyslexia

“…Considering dyslexia and social identity theory is further complicated as students themselves are not visually identifiable by any consistently distinctive or identifying features (Nalavany, Carawan, and Sauber, 2013) and are thus considered to have invisible disabilities. The construct of a social identity raises questions about belonging, discrimination and barriers for students with dyslexia within the university context.…”

Context matters: A review to formulate a conceptual framework for coaching as a disability accommodation

“…Yet understanding of targeted support to facilitate career success and well-being for affected individuals remains under-developed. The Americans with Disabilities Act [5] and UK Equality Act 2010 [6] require employers to make ‘accommodations’ (US terminology, which we adopt for the purposes of this paper) or ‘adjustments’ (UK terminology) to ensure that workers are not disadvantaged. The UK act refers to a range of protected characteristics to define disability: dyslexia is often referred to as a ‘hidden’ or ‘invisible’ disability as characteristics are not necessarily apparent to the untrained eye [6], [7].…”

“…The Americans with Disabilities Act [5] and UK Equality Act 2010 [6] require employers to make ‘accommodations’ (US terminology, which we adopt for the purposes of this paper) or ‘adjustments’ (UK terminology) to ensure that workers are not disadvantaged. The UK act refers to a range of protected characteristics to define disability: dyslexia is often referred to as a ‘hidden’ or ‘invisible’ disability as characteristics are not necessarily apparent to the untrained eye [6], [7]. In the UK over 3,000 individuals per year each receive approximately $1,000 of public funding to access support, including assistive technology and coaching [8–10] to facilitate relevant accommodations.…”

“…Therefore, theoretical framing for the purported effectiveness of coaching or other accommodation activities is lacking. Rice and Brooks ([1], p. 12] stated in 2004: “ good practice in this field rests almost entirely on professional judgment and common sense , rather than on evidence from evaluation studies”; we contend that it is now urgent to guide practitioners and policy makers towards evidence-based interventions [6], [12] for disability accommodations. The principle purpose of this review is to scope a ‘blind spot’ [12], [18] in psychological research through a Narrative Systematic Review and, using inductive reasoning [19], develop a theoretical explanation of “how and why programs work” ([20]p. 74), to identify mechanisms from relevant interventions that could conceivably be applied to an adult dyslexia coaching context [21–23].…”

The level of anxiety and coping strategies in young adults with developmental dyslexia

“…Niewiele jest badań dotyczących osób z dysleksją i wykazywanych przez nie stylów radzenia sobie ze stresem. Większość badaczy eksplorujących obszar psychologicznego funkcjonowania osób dorosłych z dysleksją koncentruje się przede wszystkim na kwestiach związanych z samooceną, depresyjnością lub motywacją [30,31]. Badania dotyczące sposobów radzenia sobie ze stresem przez dzieci i młodzież ze specyficznymi zaburzeniami czytania i pisania wskazują na trudności w tym aspekcie [32,33], zaś w przypadku osób dorosłych nie dostarczają jednoznacznych rezultatów, podobnie jak badania dotyczące lęku.…”