The article analyses the barriers and facilitators that shape the social participation of people with disabilities in Spain, based on the PARTICIPA research project. From the social model of disability and through a participatory methodology, the study collects and analyses the contributions of the project’s Reference Group, made up of people with disabilities, who discussed previous findings on employment, leisure and mobility. The findings show that participation remains limited by physical, attitudinal and institutional barriers linked to ableism. In the field of employment, the main issues include difficulties in accessing work, the lack of reasonable accommodations, uncertainty about the compatibility between disability benefits and employment, and the need for accessible legal advice. In leisure, accessibility problems are identified in cultural spaces, tourist activities, accommodation and parking areas. In terms of mobility, limitations in public and private transport also affect access to other areas of social life. In addition, the lack of accessible housing and support for independent living emerge as further issues. The article concludes that ensuring equal participation requires universal accessibility, personal assistance, effective public policies and a cultural shift based on human rights.

Psychological characteristics have an important role in determining levels of participation in both healthy and clinical populations. In the field of disability for example, it has been suggested that perception of disability and negative attitudes directly disempower individuals leading to social exclusion and isolation. In the framework of two ongoing longitudinal prospective cohort studies, we studied the relation between psychological characteristics and social participation. Participants of the Barcelona Brain Health initiative and the Participa cohorts were administered with the USER-P scale, measuring social participation in terms of Frequency of participation, Experienced participation Restrictions and Satisfaction with participation. They were also asked to respond to questionnaires measuring psychological aspects such as Type-D personality, Resilience, and Self-efficacy. The best-fitting model identified three distinct psychological profiles with similar patterns across the two cohorts.

The main conclusion of the study is that the level of independent living, self-determination and satisfaction with participation are fundamental aspects to promote a high quality of life and emotional well-being of people with disabilities. These findings have significant implications for health and social services as well as public policy guidelines, highlighting the need to prioritize empowerment and self-determination in all interventions designed for people with disabilities.

Interpersonal relationships are fundamental in the life of any person and are closely associated with a better quality of life and emotional well-being. The PARTICIPA project of the Institut Guttmann (Cegarra and Saurí, 2021) analyzes, among other issues, the barriers that people with disabilities experience when interacting with people in their environment.