Developmental Disabilities and Socioeconomic Outcomes in Young Adulthood

ObjectiveWe assessed the associations between developmental disabilities and indicators of socioeconomic outcomes (i.e., educational attainment, employment status, occupation type, subjective perception of socioeconomic status [SES], income, and wage rate) among young U.S. adults aged 24–33 years.MethodsWe used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n=13,040), a nationally representative study of U.S. adolescents in grades 7–12 during the 1994–1995 school year. Young adult outcomes (i.e., educational attainment, employment status, income, occupation, and subjective SES) were measured in Wave IV (2008 for those aged 24–33 years). Multivariate methods controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and other relevant variables.ResultsNearly 12% of this sample presented with a physical or cognitive disability. Respondents with physical disabilities had lower educational attainment (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57, 0.85) and ranked themselves in lower positions on the subjective SES ladder (OR=0.71, 95% CI 0.57, 0.87) than those without a physical disability. Compared with individuals without disabilities, young adults with a cognitive disability also had lower educational attainment (OR=0.41, 95% CI 0.33, 0.52) and, when employed, were less likely to have a professional/managerial occupation (OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.39, 0.64). Young adults with disabilities also earned less annually (–$10,419.05, 95% CI –$4,954.79, –$5,883.37) and hourly (–$5.38, 95% CI –$7.64, –$3.12) than their non-disabled counterparts.ConclusionThis study highlights the importance of considering multiple developmental experiences that may contribute to learning and work achievements through the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.Disabilities are prevalent conditions that result from interactions among health problems, environment, and personal factors, and can impose a large burden on affected individuals, their families, and society. Developmental disabilities, which can be defined as conditions caused by physical or mental impairments occurring by age 22, are of particular interest given their potential long-term impact on well-being.¹Several metrics suggest that the prevalence of disabilities is increasing, by as much as 7 percentage points (11.7% to 18.7%) from 1970 to 2005.² The increasing trend in prevalence is similar across various age groups^1–4 and is partially explained by the aging of the U.S. population.^1,3–5 Other contributing factors include advances in neonatal and pediatric care, which have significantly improved the survival of infants at greater risk of developing a disability, such as very preterm and low birthweight children.^6,7Adulthood is typically characterized by the achievement of specific milestones related to human capital accumulation, such as completing one''s education, getting a full-time job, and getting married or having a child.⁷ The transition into adulthood can be challenging for any adolescent, but for adolescents with disabilities and their families, this transition may be more difficult.⁶ Disabilities can adversely affect multiple socioeconomic outcomes, including educational achievement and attainment, employment, income, and other socioeconomic status (SES) indicators.⁸Education is a key determinant of economic performance that also affects long-term SES and quality of life.⁸ Children and adolescents with physical and cognitive disabilities typically have more limited access to formal education than their non-disabled peers.^9–11 Also, individuals with disabilities have poorer employment outcomes than their non-disabled peers, as reflected in lower-paying jobs, lower occupational status, and higher unemployment rates.^6,7,12,13Differences in learning and work performance for adults with disabilities compared with their non-disabled peers may be decreasing, as suggested by a 2012 review on transition to adulthood.¹⁰ However, the performance of individuals with disabilities on these socioeconomic outcomes continues below ideal levels.^11,12 A better understanding of socioeconomic achievements around the transition to adulthood for individuals who have lived with disabilities is needed to identify policies and early life interventions that can improve the outcomes of affected individuals.⁹Previous research on developmental disabilities has major limitations. First, adolescents and young adults are the least studied age group for any type of disability,¹⁴ and their needs are poorly understood and not adequately considered in educational programs and policies.¹⁵ Longitudinal studies using nationally representative samples to examine the transition of adolescents with disabilities into adulthood are few, and those that do exist have limitations, such as a focus on students in special secondary education and exclusion of individuals with severe disabilities.^2,15–17Using nationally representative data, we examined how early life disabilities are associated with human capital accumulation in young adulthood, focusing on educational attainment, employment status, occupation, income, wage rate, and subjective perception of social status. Given that previous studies have repeatedly reported that individuals with disabilities have worse performance on these outcomes, we hypothesized that (1) young adults with physical and cognitive disabilities would demonstrate lower educational and economic achievements compared with individuals without disabilities and (2) individuals with physical disabilities alone would perform better on these outcomes than individuals with cognitive disabilities. The second hypothesis was stated to allow the discussion on the differences of the impact of cognitive and physical disabilities on one''s life.