Victimization and restricted participation among young people with disabilities in the US child welfare system

The aim of this study was to assess the role of disability and victimization in young people's participation in developmentally salient activities by analyzing a nationally representative group of young people from the child welfare system (CWS).

Data were obtained from interviews with young people and their parents, recorded by the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II). The sample group consisted of 405 females and 270 males, ranging in age from 11 to 17 years (mean age 13y 6mo), and residing with families throughout the USA. The relationships among disability status, victimization, and participation were explored using weighted logistic regression analysis.

Controlling for demographical and family-related factors, the probability of young people with disabilities (YWD), involved with the CWS, reporting two or more victimizations was 120% higher (p<0.01) than that of young people without disabilities. YWD in the CWS were almost twice as likely as young people without disabilities to report participation in only one or no developmentally salient activities. Controlling for all other variables, the odds of restricted participation were 6.8-fold higher (p<0.05) for victimized YWD in the CWS.

Young people with disabilities who report victimization are significantly less likely than their typically developing peers to participate in developmentally salient activities. Without coordinated efforts to prevent victimization of YWD in the CWS, there will be significant barriers to their participation, well-being, and independent living outcomes.