{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T06:27:09Z","timestamp":1787120829289,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Rehabil. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Quantitative research plays a vital role in informing public health policies concerning children with disabilities. However, the categorisation of children as \u2018disabled\u2019 in statistical analyses raises complex ethical questions. This perspective article offers a conceptual and normative reflection on the ethical implications of such categorisation, drawing on the frameworks of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. It argues that while categorisation may be necessary for policy development and resource allocation, it can also perpetuate stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion\u2014particularly when based on inconsistent definitions or overly broad categories. The article contrasts medical and social models of disability and highlights how these frameworks influence who is included within the category \u201cchildren with disabilities\u201d in research. It further explores how ethical theories can guide researchers in navigating the tension between the need for statistical clarity and the imperative to respect individual dignity and diversity. Special attention is given to intersectionality and to the importance of nuanced, inclusive approaches to data collection. The analysis concludes that categorisation can be ethically justified if conducted with care, transparency, and respect for the lived experiences of children with disabilities. Ethical reflection should be an ongoing process throughout the research lifecycle, not a one-time consideration. This article contributes to the broader discourse on responsible research practices in quantitative studies and calls for ethically grounded methodologies that promote inclusion and equity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fresc.2026.1689272","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:44:20Z","timestamp":1787118260000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ethical reflections on the use of the category \u201cchildren with disabilities\u201d in quantitative research"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Christian","family":"M\u00f8ller-Skau","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group for Disability and Inclusion, Department of Health, Social and Welfare Studies, University of South-Eastern Norway","place":["Porsgrunn, Norway"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","year":"2021"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1859","DOI":"10.1080\/09687599.2022.2162859","article-title":"From experiences to numbers: the production of international disability statistics","volume":"39","author":"Bennani","year":"2023","journal-title":"Disability and Society"},{"key":"B3","volume-title":"Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches","author":"Creswell","year":"2023"},{"key":"B4","author":"Molden","year":"2016"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"673","DOI":"10.1080\/09687590701659527","article-title":"Being disabled: towards a critical social ontology for disability studies","volume":"22","author":"Hughes","year":"2007","journal-title":"Disabil Soc"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.3390\/soc10010002","article-title":"Ethics in categorizing ethnicity and disability in research with children","volume":"10","author":"Thorjussen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Societies"},{"key":"B7","year":"2024"},{"key":"B8","year":"2006"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"957","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-9566.12417","article-title":"The social meaning of disability: a reflection on categorisation, stigma and identity","volume":"38","author":"Grue","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sociol Health Illn"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1080\/00220973.1996.11072421","article-title":"Toward inclusive theory: disability as social construction","volume":"33","author":"Jones","year":"","journal-title":"NASPA Journal"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"750","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9566.2007.01014.x","article-title":"The fuzzy buzz word: conceptualisations of disability in disability research classics","volume":"29","author":"Gr\u00f6nvik","year":"2007","journal-title":"Sociol Health Illn"},{"key":"B12","author":"T\u00f8ssebro","year":"2021"},{"key":"B13","first-page":"195","article-title":"The social model of disability","volume-title":"The Disability Studie Reader","author":"Shakespeare","year":"2017"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S4","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2458-11-s4-s4","article-title":"Measuring disability and monitoring the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities: the work of the Washington group on disability statistics","volume":"11","author":"Madans","year":"2011","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1186\/s13690-018-0270-8","article-title":"Measuring disability: a systematic review of the validity and reliability of the global activity limitations indicator (GALI)","volume":"76","author":"Van Oyen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Arch Public Health"},{"key":"B16","year":"2022"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"174","DOI":"10.1016\/j.alter.2010.05.003","article-title":"Measuring disability in survey research: comparing current measurements within one data set","volume":"4","author":"Molden","year":"2010","journal-title":"Alter"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2197","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-021-12263-w","article-title":"Finnish Late adolescents\u2019 physical activity during COVID-19 spring 2020 lockdown","volume":"21","author":"Ng","year":"","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14034948251409588","DOI":"10.1177\/14034948251409588","article-title":"Self-reported disability among Norwegian children: prevalence and methodological insights into the relational model of disability","volume":"22","author":"M\u00f8ller-Skau","year":"2026","journal-title":"Scand J Public Health"},{"key":"B20","year":"2021"},{"key":"B21","author":"Molden","year":"2007"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/chso.12356","article-title":"The principles and ethics of including children with disability in child research","volume":"34","author":"Jenkin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Child Soc"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1241","DOI":"10.2307\/1229039","article-title":"Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color","volume":"43","author":"Crenshaw","year":"1991","journal-title":"Stanford Law Rev"},{"key":"B24","first-page":"131","article-title":"Diversity and difference research: a reflection on categories and categorization","volume":"18","author":"Risberg","year":"2018","journal-title":"Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organizations"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780195368246.001.0001","volume-title":"Responsible Conduct of Research","author":"Shamoo","year":"2009"},{"key":"B26","first-page":"230","article-title":"Consequentialism","volume-title":"A Companion to Etichs","author":"Pettit","year":"1993"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2006","DOI":"10.3109\/09638288.2014.989337","article-title":"Deontological and utilitarian ethics: a brief introduction in the context of disorders of consciousness","volume":"37","author":"Playford","year":"2015","journal-title":"Disabil Rehabil"},{"key":"B28","author":"Bykvist","year":"2009"},{"key":"B29","first-page":"175","article-title":"Kantian ethics","volume-title":"A Companion to Etichs","author":"\u00d2Neill","year":"1993"},{"key":"B30","first-page":"23","author":"Brady","year":"2019"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1080\/14733280903234428","article-title":"The right to be properly researched: research with children in a messy, real world","volume":"7","author":"Beazley","year":"2009","journal-title":"Child Geogr"},{"key":"B32","volume-title":"After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory","author":"MacIntyre","year":"1985"},{"key":"B33","first-page":"249","article-title":"Virtue theory","volume-title":"A Companion to Etichs","author":"Pence","year":"1993"},{"key":"B34","year":"2024"},{"key":"B35","author":"Rutherford","year":"2026"},{"key":"B36","author":"Backe-Hansen","year":"2023"},{"key":"B37","year":"2023"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1080\/08989621.2012.728908","article-title":"Ethical virtues in scientific research","volume":"19","author":"Resnik","year":"2012","journal-title":"Account Res"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fresc.2026.1689272\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:44:21Z","timestamp":1787118261000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fresc.2026.1689272\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"references-count":38,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fresc.2026.1689272"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fresc.2026.1689272","relation":{},"ISSN":["2673-6861"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2673-6861","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"article-number":"1689272"}}