From Belief to Action: The Role of Disability Connectedness and Moral Conviction in Parent Advocacy Activities

Abstract Across the globe, parents of children with disabilities advocate across several domains – individually for their own child, as peers supporting other families, and systemically influencing broader policy change. Understanding the motivations behind advocacy domains is crucial to enhancing parental engagement. Grounded in the Dual-Chamber Model for Collective Action, this study examined correlates of individual, peer, and systemic advocacy among 78 parents of individuals with disabilities in the United States. Linear regression analyses revealed disability connectedness as a significant, positive correlate of all three advocacy domains while moral conviction significantly correlated with greater individual advocacy. The results emphasize the roles of fostering strong community connections and moral commitment in promoting advocacy among parents of children with disabilities, providing valuable insights for organizational facilitators and educators. Future research should include a sufficiently powered, diverse sample to test the associations among the variables.