Transition skills of youths with disabilities: The impact of individual characteristics, social support and self-esteem

Abstract

The aims of this study were the investigation of the transition knowledge-skills of adolescents and young adults with visual impairments, learning difficulties, or mobility impairments, and the impact of disability, individual characteristics, social support, and self-esteem, on their transition knowledge-skills. Apart from the questionnaire concerning the demographic/ individual characteristics of the participants, three more instruments were used: (a) the Transition Planning Inventory-2, (b) the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS), and (c) the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. The sample consisted of 169 youths with disabilities. The variable “disability” is a statistically significant predictor of transition knowledge-skills. The total transition knowledge-skills of participants with mobility impairments were worse than those of participants with learning difficulties and those of participants with visual impairments. Participants' transition knowledge-skills were better when the received close friends' social support was higher. The findings of the present study also indicate that the self-esteem of young people with disabilities has a positive effect on their transition knowledge-skills. Moreover, the age of the participants, the number of their siblings and their parents' educational level influence their transition knowledge-skills.