A Grounded Theory of Disability Disclosure Decisions Among Students with Invisible Disabilities in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

This doctoral study develops a grounded theory of disability disclosure decision-making among students with invisible disabilities, including learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and hearing impairment, in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Disclosure decisions, involving whether, when, to whom, and in what manner to reveal a disability, are consequential choices that determine whether students access available accommodations and support, and that carry social and academic risks including stigma, altered expectations, and discrimination. For students with invisible disabilities, these decisions are particularly complex as the invisibility of the condition creates both the option of concealment and the risk of misunderstanding when disclosure is made. Employing constructivist grounded theory methodology, the study conducts iterative theoretical sampling across forty-eight in-depth interviews with students with invisible disabilities in six tertiary institutions across Nigeria, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education from diverse geopolitical zones. Interviews explore disclosure experiences, decision processes, relational contexts, and consequences. Constant comparative analysis, theoretical memo writing, and theoretical sampling continue until theoretical saturation is achieved. The resulting substantive grounded theory provides an original account of how Nigerian students with invisible disabilities navigate disclosure across the contextual conditions of Nigerian tertiary culture, generating concepts and categories with significant implications for disability support services design and staff training. The theory also contributes to the international disability disclosure literature by providing a non-Western perspective. Keywords: disability disclosure, invisible disabilities, tertiary institutions, grounded theory, Nigeria.