Citizenship of persons with intellectual disabilities within the frame of inclusive research: A scoping review of studies to inform future research

This scoping review aims to explore the citizenship of people with intellectual disabilities and its expression in inclusive research. The deductive lens used is the general principles embedded in Article 3 of the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The review was conducted using the framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. Seven databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles dating from 2005 to 2019. Our key findings are: the term citizenship is seldom mentioned or explicitly discussed in the articles; the articles highlight a broad range of dimensions closely related to the exercise of citizenship. Citizenship in the articles is connected to participation, autonomy, decision-making, self-direction and inclusion in society. Articles also uncover violations of the rights and barriers to participation in the society; more attention needs to be paid to conceptualization and exploration of the citizenship of people with intellectual disabilities.

Implications for further research

The citizenship of people with intellectual disabilities needs to get more attention regarding both the understanding of the concept of citizenship and its exercise, so that people with intellectual disabilities get a real chance to become equal partners in society and research.