Digital Inequality and Internet Self‐Efficacy in Adults With Intellectual Disability: Motivational, Demographic and Contextual Predictors of Online Participation

Sarah Glencross; Jonathan Mason

doi:10.1111/jar.70261

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Digital Inequality and Internet Self‐Efficacy in Adults With Intellectual Disability: Motivational, Demographic and Contextual Predictors of Online Participation

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Digital Inequality and Internet Self‐Efficacy in Adults With Intellectual Disability: Motivational, Demographic and Contextual Predictors of Online Participation

Sarah Glencross and Jonathan Mason

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Vol.39(3), p.e70261

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.70261

PMID: 42248809

Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs

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Abstract

Accessible computing

Collaborative and social computing

Human-computer interaction

Social psychology

Community psychology

Intellectual disability

Digital inclusion

Digital divide

Digital literacy

Online participation

Digital equity

Background Adults with intellectual disability face multiple barriers to digital participation, yet limited research has examined how motivational and demographic factors interact to influence internet self-efficacy. Method Structured interviews were conducted with 96 adults with mild or moderate intellectual disability and 49 adults without intellectual disability across urban and regional locations in Australia. Internet self-efficacy, attitudes and behavioural beliefs were assessed using adapted measures informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Results Participants with intellectual disability had significantly lower internet self-efficacy than their peers, particularly those who were older, lived in regional areas or lacked professional support. Motivational variables predicted a small proportion of self-efficacy variance for participants with intellectual disability and a larger proportion for the comparison group. Conclusions Findings suggest digital inequality among people with intellectual disability is shaped by contextual and motivational factors. Support programmes informed by behavioural theory may help increase digital confidence and online engagement.

Details

Title: Digital Inequality and Internet Self‐Efficacy in Adults With Intellectual Disability: Motivational, Demographic and Contextual Predictors of Online Participation
Authors: Sarah Glencross (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Jonathan Mason - Cairnmillar Institute
Publication details: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Vol.39(3), p.e70261
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1111/jar.70261
ISSN: 1468-3148
PMID: 42248809
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Grant note: This research was supported by a PhD scholarship awarded by the Australian National Disability Insurance Agency and administered by the University of the Sunshine Coast (1068349).
Organisation Unit: School of Education and Tertiary Access; Student Services and Engagement
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991238899102621
Output Type: Journal article

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