Purpose/Objective: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how adolescents conceptualize disability identity and what factors may influence adolescent disability identity development.Research Method/Design: These data were collected through semistructured in-depth interviews with 24 middle and high school adolescents with disabilities. The participants had a wide range of disabilities, including physical disabilities, learning disabilities, ADHD, Autism, and others. Analyses started with Hamilton's Rapid Assessment Process followed by identifying structural and in vivo codes using a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis tool to allow for multiple coders and memo writing across the research team. Results: The results indicate that adolescents are undergoing a heterogeneous and complex process to develop their disability identity. Additionally, the salience of the participants' disability identity often varied depending on the environmental context. Furthermore, social connections to peers with and without disabilities played an important role in the development of many participants' disability identities. Conclusions/Implications: These findings suggest that adolescents with disabilities are engaging in a multifaceted meaning-making process to develop a sense of disability identity. Rehabilitation Psychologists and other practitioners can support disabled adolescents by helping them to discuss and develop a positive disability identity. Furthermore, practitioners can help disabled adolescents successfully develop their disability identity in a variety of different settings and contexts. Impact and ImplicationsThis study empirically investigates adolescent disability identity development. Results suggest that disability identity is a salient identity for adolescents. Yet, disabled adolescents seem to still grapple with this identity, and it appears to be more salient in certain contexts and with certain types of peers than with others. Adolescents were excited to share their disability story, and by encouraging these conversations, this will help to make disability identity a valued form of diversity. Rehabilitation psychologists are well-positioned to engage in these conversations with disabled adolescents and to potentially be liaisons between the adolescent and their school psychology team. Furthermore, this work has important implications for providing a knowledge basis to allow for the future building of targeted interventions and therapeutic techniques to help support and positively impact the development of disability identity with adolescents.

Purpose/Objective: College students with physical disabilities are often at a higher risk for mental health problems. In addition, some universities have created disability community spaces, but it is not known whether these spaces are associated with social support or increased mental health and well-being among students who use them. This study investigated differences in feelings of perceived social support, depressive symptomatology, and well-being between students with physical disabilities who live in general student housing and students with physical disabilities who live in a disability community. Research Methods/Design: A mixed-methods online survey was used to collect data from students with physical disabilities who lived in a disability community and from those who did not. Of the participants, 27 college students self-identified as having a physical disability (n ϭ 27), 11 participants lived in the disability community (n ϭ 11), and 16 did not (n ϭ 16). Results: The quantitative results indicated statistically significant differences between the two groups on all three measures. The open-ended responses revealed that those who lived in the disability community setting felt more connected to other students with physical disabilities. However, the results also showed that many students with physical disabilities felt socially disconnected for a myriad of reasons. Conclusions/Implications: These findings suggest that living in a disability community may be associated with feeling socially supported and improved mental health outcomes among college students with physical disabilities. Universities and other stakeholders should consider implementing programs to foster disability community among students with physical disabilities. Impact and ImplicationsThis study is one of the first to investigate if living in a disability community setting is associated with perceived social support and mental health outcomes for college students with physical disabilities. Results suggest that living in a disability community may be related to increased social support and positive mental health outcomes among college students with physical disabilities. Living in a disability community helped many participants to form connections to others with a physical disability. These relationships and connections may support positive mental health outcomes for college students with physical disabilities. Many of the participants outside of the disability community setting did not feel connected to other college students with physical disabilities. Rehabilitation psychologists working with newly disabled individuals, especially those who are college-age may find these findings particularly relevant. Psychologists, disability services staff, and other relevant stakeholders should work to implement programs and interventions that help college students with physical disabilities to form social connections with each other.

Motivational interviewing (MI), a therapy strategy used to guide students to help students better understand how to develop their social emotional learning (SEL) skills to make positive choices that resolve social conflict, bodes promising for helping youth to cultivate the social and emotional skills needed to address bullying, peer drama, and other issues affecting their mental, physical, and emotional health. Bulldog Solution, Inc., a Chicago-based organization, utilized MI research-informed approach to increase students’ social conflict management and leadership skills through self-awareness and self-discovery, as a mechanism for preventing bullying and supporting the social and emotional growth of young people. This study presents emerging themes resulting from a 9-week, motivational interview and SEL-based program titled, “Peace Over Drama,” implemented with middle school students (sixth–seventh–eighth grade) with disabilities and/or at risk for disability-identification ( n = 17) in one Chicago middle school on the south side. Implications for school-based prevention models and scaling of similar SEL and MI programing are discussed.