Disability Items From the Current Population Survey (2008-2015) and Permanent Versus Temporary Disability Status.

OBJECTIVES: To examine longitudinal responses to the disability indicator questions that have been adopted as the standard across national surveys sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

METHODS: Data from the Current Population Survey between 2008 and 2015 were linked to create a longitudinal sample of 721 178 individual respondents.

RESULTS: Responses to the disability questions fluctuated significantly. Although 17% of all respondents reported a disability at some point, only 3% consistently reported the same set of disabilities. Demographic differences were found between people who always reported a consistent set of disabilities and those whose responses fluctuated.

CONCLUSIONS: The disability questions capture 2 discrete groups: people who experience a permanent disability and those who experience a temporary disability. Demographic differences between these groups suggest that this is not simply due to measurement error.