Association between Discrimination Experiences and Suicidal Ideation among Persons with Physical Disabilities in South Korea

Han-SeungLyu , Hyun-Jung Kim , Do-Hyang Ryu , Joo-Hee Choo , Ran-Yeong Kim 

The purpose of this study was to identify the distribution of discrimination experiences and suicidal ideation among Korean adults with physical disabilities and examine their association. This study analyzed data from 145 people who participated in the survey in 2023. The exposure variable was the experience of discrimination due to disability over the past year, and the outcome variable was suicidal ideation over the past year. Among the 145 persons with physical disabilities, 9.0% had suicidal ideation, and 42.1% had discrimination due to disability. 12.4% had experienced discrimination due to reasons other than disability, and the most common reasons for discrimination were appearance including height and weight, educational level, age, and economic situation. After adjusting for confounders, a significant association was examined between experience of discrimination due to disability and suicidal ideation. Furthermore, after adjusting for discrimination experiences due to reasons other than disability, a statistically significant association was found. This study shows that the experience of discrimination due to disability is associated with suicidal ideation among persons with physical disabilities. This result suggests that interventions are needed to prevent discrimination and protect people from discrimination to promote their mental health.

Persons with disabilities, Discrimination, Mental health, Suicidal ideation

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