The Unexpected Wheelchair: Exploring U.K. University Students’ Social Perceptions of Dating and Physical Disability Using Story Completion
Dublin Core
Title
The Unexpected Wheelchair: Exploring U.K. University Students’ Social Perceptions of Dating and Physical Disability Using Story Completion
Subject
Discrimination against people with disabilities
Electronic Resource Item Type Metadata
Journal Name
Qualitative Psychology
Volume
Vol. 13
Issue
No. 1
Publication Date
2026
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Document Type
Journal article
Language
English
ISBN
23263601
Region
United Kingdom
Access
Open Access
View Source
Abstract
The wider culture is rife with negative representations of physically disabled people’s sexuality, with them often constructed as asexual and unfit for relationships.
The—predominantly quantitative—literature on perceptions of physically disabled
people’s sexuality evidences negative social perceptions in—typically—student
samples. But research focused on willingness to date a disabled person (also often with
students) suggests more positive attitudes, although the role of social desirability in
responses is unclear. We expand existing knowledge by qualitatively exploring how
younger adults make sense of a dating scenario involving a clearly “marked” as disabled
(wheelchair user) character (Cameron) and an “unmarked” character (Andy). By using
the novel story completion method that explores a hypothetical scenario, we aimed
to circumvent social desirability and gain access to everyday sensemaking around
disability and dating. Our analysis highlights six themes from the stories: (a) the
unexpected wheelchair; (b) anxious Andy, the good guy; (c) the elephant in the room;
(d) disability as personal tragedy; (e) the good disabled person; and (f) love conquers
all. Although participants wrote stories about the scenario that framed disability as an
obstacle to a successful date, the stories were mainly of a successful date. But even
“positive” stories conveyed subtle manifestations of ableism. We argue that story
completion provides a useful method for qualitative psychologists to interrogate social
perceptions, particularly when social desirability is a concern.
The—predominantly quantitative—literature on perceptions of physically disabled
people’s sexuality evidences negative social perceptions in—typically—student
samples. But research focused on willingness to date a disabled person (also often with
students) suggests more positive attitudes, although the role of social desirability in
responses is unclear. We expand existing knowledge by qualitatively exploring how
younger adults make sense of a dating scenario involving a clearly “marked” as disabled
(wheelchair user) character (Cameron) and an “unmarked” character (Andy). By using
the novel story completion method that explores a hypothetical scenario, we aimed
to circumvent social desirability and gain access to everyday sensemaking around
disability and dating. Our analysis highlights six themes from the stories: (a) the
unexpected wheelchair; (b) anxious Andy, the good guy; (c) the elephant in the room;
(d) disability as personal tragedy; (e) the good disabled person; and (f) love conquers
all. Although participants wrote stories about the scenario that framed disability as an
obstacle to a successful date, the stories were mainly of a successful date. But even
“positive” stories conveyed subtle manifestations of ableism. We argue that story
completion provides a useful method for qualitative psychologists to interrogate social
perceptions, particularly when social desirability is a concern.
Cataloger
Edrina Adjei-Manu
Citation
“The Unexpected Wheelchair: Exploring U.K. University Students’ Social Perceptions of Dating and Physical Disability Using Story Completion,” ICMGLT Digital Library, accessed November 3, 2026, https://library.icmglt.org/items/show/836.