Factors Associated with School Psychologist’s Disability Disclosure in the Workplace
摘要
Despite school psychologists playing a critical role in identifying and supporting children with disabilities, only 5.3% self-identify as having a disability. Even less is known about the reasons they decide to disclose or withhold their disability status from their employers. This descriptive study aimed to address this gap in the literature by examining school psychologists' reasons for formally disclosing their disability, inclusive of mental and chronic health conditions, to their employer or deciding not to. A total of 255 school psychologists with disabilities completed a 43-item online survey to share their reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure. Results revealed that only 37.1% of participants formally disclosed their disability, with the most common reasons being to foster trust with employers, communicate specific needs about their condition, and obtain workplace accommodations. The top reasons for non-disclosure included viewing their disability as being private/confidential information, concerns that their disability would not be seen as legitimate, and concerns about being viewed as an inconvenience in the workplace. A binary logistic regression analysis was completed to determine whether there were significant differences between the reasons school psychologists disclosed their disability or chose not to disclose based on the visibility of their disability. School psychologists with invisible disabilities were significantly more likely to disclose than those with visible or sometimes visible conditions. Findings from the binary logistic regression highlight that while visibility influenced the likelihood of school psychologists disclosing their disability, it did not significantly impact their specific reasons for disclosure or non-disclosure.