Submerged Identities

Submerged identities is a term used by disability researcher Diane Roberts to describe less obvious influences on identity that can arise through living with disability. In her qualitative research with adults aging with physical or sensory disabilities, Roberts found that disability affected people’s roles, choices, relationships, and interactions with the world in ways that became part of their sense of self. “Submerged” does not necessarily mean deliberately hidden or suppressed. Rather, these influences may operate beneath the more visible roles and identities through which a person describes who they are.