Disability and Social Exclusion: A Case Study of Physically Disabled People Living in the City of Ray

This study sought to understand the factors affecting social exclusion among physically disabled people living in the city of Ray south of Tehran. Our main research question is how people with physical disability become systematically excluded from their community. Some social theorists argue that disability is a kind of oppression and social exclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of social life experience significant inequalities. Also, disabled people exclusion is influenced by social factors. Methodologically, this study is a combination of quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) approaches. We interviewed 31 persons with physical disability and surveyed a sample of 369 disabled people under the cover of governmental social welfare organization. We attempted to reach a deeper understanding of the lived experience of mental and physical disabilities through interviews. Our survey results show that the variable of social exclusion of disabled people from the community is statistically related to negative attitudes of other people, lack of relevant physical facilities, weakness of social support institutions, the degree of inner group support, lack of social trust, and a sense of social deprivation.