May 2002 Article, Part Two

CPS Disability Measuring continued

Elements of uncertainty

In addition to issues of validity, the CPS questions (both in the basic and the March income supplement) have several elements that add uncertainty to their utility as identifiers of the population with disabilities. There is a temporal element—how long must a health problem or impairment last before it qualifies as a disabling condition? Does the health dimension to this question mean we are identifying as disabled those with temporary conditions such as the flu or a broken leg? A health condition can be coincident with a disability and it could cause the disability, but blindness, deafness, spinal cord injury, or missing limbs generally are not considered to be health conditions. However, depression, heart conditions, and diabetes might be considered as prerequisite health conditions for disability status. Other health conditions clearly would not present a qualifying precondition for disability status, because the ongoing pathology is not long lasting (for example, a cold), and if it is, it might not present a substantial limitation (for example, a case of mild hypertension). Of course, if respondents report that this condition substantially limits their ability to work, the condition would qualify as a disability.

Another element that adds uncertainty to the CPS questions utility as identifiers of the population with disabilities is the fact that work is only one of many major life activities in which one might have difficulties. There are long lists of activities that might apply in the ADA definition, including parenting, learning, playing, getting around inside the home, shopping, counting money, lifting, making and maintaining relationships, reading, and conversing.

Indeed, work goes beyond an activity of daily living in terms of difficulty; it may be one of the most complex things we do because it requires the coordination of multiple activities, such as learning, eating, dressing, bathing, and the ability to use public or private transportation, among others. Even if a person can do all of these things but with great difficulty and they hold a job, that person might not respond that he or she is limited in the type or amount of work performed and so would not be identified by work limitation questions or by the source of income questions. Thus, it is plausible that many people who work and also have a disability (under the ADA definition) would not consider themselves limited in the type or amount of work they can do. The CPS question asks them to identify some failing about themselves. Why should they-after all, they are working.

Another element of uncertainty can be seen in the data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). These data show that certain people with specific types of disabilities do not self identify unless asked about the disabilities directly-those with blindness, deafness, and learning disabilities, for example. Some of the individuals surveyed in SIPP responded that they had these conditions, but did not get identified by questions on particular activity limitations.² These individuals also are not likely to be identified by the work limitation question in the SIPP.

There are likely to be wide crosscultural variations in how "health condition" and "disability" are defined. There also are likely to be major gender differences and gender crossed by cultural differences in the definition. Given the mind-body split assumption of most western populations, a mental condition is not likely to be considered a "health condition" or "disability" for many.

"Work" is another definitional issue that adds to the uncertainty. Individuals working in a job that they believe to be significantly below their capabilities (such as a data entry clerk with a background in programming rockets for NASA), might say they are limited in the type of work they can do. How would the survey researcher know if the limitation was because of a disability, or because it was the only job that individual could find? The question does not tease out this difference. If someone acquired a disability and was not able or allowed to work in the job he or she was trained to do, and instead had to accept a menial "substitute" job, that person might not report that he or she was working, out of shame or a sense of failure. Also, the work limitation question in the March income supplement does not differentiate between work as a means of obtaining a living, and work as a meaningful use of time. Hence, when the March income supplement question asks about work limitation, the respondent who does volunteer work could easily assume that volunteer work is included. Volunteer work in the basic CPS, of course, is not included in the employment concept— the question asks "…did you do any work for pay or profit?"

Remedying the inadequacy

Are the CPS data "valid" for measuring the employment-population trends of persons with disabilities? This is an empirical question, and given that the questions in the CPS are not designed to measure a specific definition of disability, the burden of proof is on those who use the data to infer the labor force status of people with disabilities. To proceed as though the data are valid measures of disabilities turns a data issue into a policy issue.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recognizes that an adequate measure of the employment status of persons with disabilities may not exist, either from the CPS in its current form, or from other surveys. Working under the auspices of Executive Order 13078 (which calls for the development of an accurate and reliable employment rate for adults with disabilities), and in conjunction with the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities and more than 15 other Federal agencies, a set of questions has been identified and are being tested for possible inclusion in the CPS. The Executive Order requires that measures of individuals with disabilities be accurate and reliable. The first steps necessary to produce meaningful statistics are being undertaken.

Notes

¹ The Current Population Survey (last revised in 1994) is the official source of employment and unemployment data for the United States. It is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households, or 100,000 people. This is the vehicle through which employment and unemployment data on the protected classes are gathered.

Based on responses to a series of questions on work and job-search activities, each person 16 years and older in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. A detailed explanation of labor force definitions appears on page 51 of this issue.

² Survey of Income and Program Participation, Bureau of the Census, 1994–95.

Click here for Part One

This article is from the U.S. Department of Labor
Monthly Labor Review June 2001