Self-worth and life meaning: the perceived narrative frames on the identity of people with disabilities

This study investigated the narrative frames of disability and their associations with disability identity in the context of China. Specifically, it explored the sense of Self-worth, Life Meaning, Perceived Discrimination, and Disability Denial in people with disabilities and the complex relationships between media narratives, impairment, and social constraints. Through framing analysis, this study found three tragedy narrative frames (traditional, medical, and charity) and three non-tragedy frames (inspirational, relationship, and rights) from the traditional media and social media. Additional hierarchical regression analysis of a survey data among people with disabilities revealed that participants who frequently accessed social media platforms were more likely to reject tragic narratives while accepting non-tragic ones. The findings indicate that access to non-tragic narrative resources may help people with disabilities challenge tragedy-based understandings and construct more positive identities. Further analysis, however, indicated that superficial positive valence does not itself constitute affirmative identity acceptance. For example, although the inspirational frame celebrates agency and achievement, it retains a deficit-oriented logic in which impairments must be overcome; accordingly, it reinforces greater disability denial, thereby limiting the formation of a genuine affirmative disability identity.