Social and Community Involvement and Household Circumstances of Young Adults With Disabilities: Findings From National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (2009)

• In Event: Changes in the School and Postschool Experiences of Youth With Disabilities: Comparing NLTS (National Longitudinal Transition Study) and NLTS2

Abstract

The proposed paper will describe the social and community involvement and household circumstances of young adults with disabilities out of high school up to 8 years. Although postsecondary education and employment are critical outcomes for young adults, the broader notion of “social inclusion” is increasingly being used to characterize transition success. Social inclusion “rests on the principle that democratic societies are enriched by the full inclusion of their citizens in the ebb and flow of community affairs” (Osgood, Foster, Flanagan, & Ruth, 2005, p. 12). Consistent with this notion, the domains encompassed in an understanding of a successful transition to young adulthood for individuals with disabilities have long included living successfully in one’s community (Halpern, 1985; National Center on Educational Outcomes, 1993). The proposed paper will add to an understanding of social inclusion of youth adults with disabilities by addressing the following dimensions of their community integration: friendship interactions; participation in community/civic activities; negative community involvement (i.e., involvement in violence-related activities and with the criminal justice system); residential independence; parenting; and marital status.
The presentation will begin by documenting changes in several aspects of social inclusion, including parenting, marriage, and residential independence between NLTS (1990) and NLTS2 (2005). It will then present findings from the final wave of NLTS2 data collection (2009), when young adults with disabilities were ages 21-26. Findings will be presented for young adults with disabilities as a whole and for those who differ in disability category, high school leaving characteristics, and demographics.
Additionally, findings from propensity scoring analyses also will be presented for selected disability categories, identifying high school experiences (e.g., participation in extracurricular groups activities, involvement with disciplinary actions) and interventions (e.g., social skills training) that are linked to higher rates of positive social inclusion and lower rates of negatives social involvement, such as arrests.
NLTS2 findings suggest that young adults with disabilities had active friendships—77% reported seeing friends outside of organized activities at least weekly. More than three-fourths had driving privileges, and 71% exercised civic participation through registering to vote. However, several negative forms of community involvement also characterized their out-of-high school experiences. For example, 50% of young adults with disabilities reported having been stopped and questioned by police for reasons other than a traffic violation, and 32% had been arrested. These findings, particularly those examining the relationship of high school experiences with more successful post high school social inclusions have both policy and practice implications for high schools and special educators.

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Authors

• Debra Shaver, SRI International

• Tracy Huang, SRI International