Promoting the political engagement of people with intellectual disabilities

Political participation is a human right. However, people with intellectual disabilities vote significantly less than overall populations. Limited research considers this topic. Improved knowledge could inform recommendations to enable people with intellectual disabilities to access this right. A critical realist mixed methods approach was taken to enhance understanding of voting in people with intellectual disabilities. An integrative literature review was conducted concerning people with intellectual disabilities and voting. 126 pieces of literature met eligibility criteria, including 51 academic journal articles. Literature encompassed voting rates, experiences, barriers, and promotion. Having less severe needs, more control and power within own life and receiving good quality support were linked with higher rates. Barriers included laws, inaccessible information, lacking support and other people’s attitudes. People with intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their experiences of the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, including direct perspectives of their UK general election experiences within the academic literature for the first time. Accessibility, capacity, and support had persistent impacts on election experiences, including whether people voted. The first known validated psychometric scale measuring attitudes to voting by people with intellectual disabilities was developed, providing new options for future research. A survey study found that adaptations and support to enable voting were regarded as viable for both people with intellectual disabilities and the overall population, but significantly more so for people with intellectual disabilities. Capacity was seen as a suitable justification for voting restrictions for both, with no significant difference between groups. Additional open-ended items developed understanding of attitude differences, e.g., understanding levels making voting meaningful/not irrespective of whether someone has an intellectual disability. Another survey study found that predictions of attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities voting were improved by adding (i) political ideologies and beliefs, and (ii) attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities generally predictors to initial demographic and personal circumstances predictors. Further adding population subgroup did not improve predictions. Significant individual predictors concerning (i) knowledge of capacity and rights, and (ii) interaction with people with intellectual disabilities had the most consistent impact. Data for scale development and these two survey studies were collected across two separate studies, with each set of study procedures designed to both develop the scale and answer separate research questions. Thesis studies generated recommendations for voting promotion interventions, support organisations, and government, including actively refuting capacity as a voting restriction justification and including voting within support plans. Future research priorities/direction include developing/assessing ways of promoting voting and more nuanced consideration of capacity attitudes.

Citation

Manktelow, N. (2025) Promoting the political engagement of people with intellectual disabilities. University of Wolverhampton. https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/625996

Publisher

University of Wolverhampton

URI

https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/625996

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en

Description

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Collections

Theses and Dissertations