The sociology of physical disability: A review of literature and some conceptual perspectives

In this paper some of the most significant literature on the sociology of physical disability is examined. Special attention is paid to the labeling perspective because it has dominated thinking about the social and emotional adjustment of disabled individuals during recent years. Much of the empirical research, however, indicates that a key problem in the labeling theory is explaining why many disabled individuals do not passively accept the labels that are applied to them. Hence, two alternative conceptual perspectives, the negotiated outcome perspective and the compensatory perspective, are offered to account for the behavior and emotional adjustment of some physically disabled individuals. In addition, some possible conditioning variables are discussed in terms of their theoretical significance and implications for future research.