Health-Risk Behaviors and Protective Factors Among Adolescents With Mobility Impairments and Learning and Emotional Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk involvement of 3 groups of young people with disabilites relative to a comparison group. Protective factors were explored to identify which were associated with diminished risk. Analyses are based on National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of 20,780 American youth. 5 negative health outcomes were studied including suicide attempts. Youth with emotional disabilities were more than 6 times as likely to report suicide attempts in the past 12 months than peers. Likewise, adolescents with mobility impairments & those with learning disabilities were nearly 3 times more likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year than those in the comparison group. Each group of young people with disabilities was distinguished from peers in reporting significantly more exposure to risk factors & significantly fewer protective factors. (18 refs.)