Developmental disabilities and socioeconomic outcomes in young adulthood

We 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.

We 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.

Nearly 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.

This 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.