Disability and Vulnerability: Interpretations of Risk in Everyday Life

Definitions and assessments of social vulnerability are commonly based on systemic relations and processes on a macrolevel. There is a danger of ascribing vulnerability to someone, regardless of their individual circumstances; thus, microlevel information regarding everyday life is also needed. Experiences of risk and attitudes towards vulnerability were explored in five group interviews. Related to instrumental aids, bodily endurance and external causes, vulnerability was found to be a ubiquitous primer in everyday decision‐making. The disabled individual's interpretative framework for risk and vulnerability is shaped by objectifying his/her own body, and by being accustomed to everything taking a long time. The interpretative framework helps in decision‐making and in managing any ‘contextual inertia’ involved in stressful situations.