Disabled individuals facing and reacting against identity threat during school-to-work transition

Purpose In a context in which disabled people are stigmatized, the school-to-work transition threatens the occupational identity to which disabled individuals aspire. This study highlights how students with a disability face and react against identity threat, using identity management strategies and, specifically, identity threat responses when intending to integrate into the workplace. Design/methodology/approach Students in transition or having recently integrated into the workplace were interviewed to relate their transitioning experience, resulting in a qualitative study based on 31 semi-structured interviews. Findings The study reveals that identity threat is experienced during the school-to-work transition process and that disabled individuals do not remain passive but actively fight against it. The participants used four identity management strategies to attempt to counteract such threats. The strategies displayed include identity threat mechanisms such as identity-protection and identity-restructuring responses. The outcomes of these strategies are presented in terms of their positive and backlash effects. Originality/value This research contributes to the identity management literature and, more specifically, to the identity threat literature by showing how disabled individuals combine several identity threat responses, which they use as resources to reduce potential harm. New identity threat responses that are particularly crucial in a career management strategy are also highlighted.