Young Adulthood for Individuals with Behavioral Disorders: What Does it Hold?

Abstract

This study investigated the adult adjustment of randomly selected students with behavioral disorders one and three years after they exited high school. Eighty-nine students (66% of those selected) were interviewed one year out of high school; 82 were interviewed again three years out of high school. Results for individuals three years out of school are reported in terms of: (a) general status information (e.g., marital status, living arrangements, sources of financial assistance, leisure activities); (b) employment information (e.g., percent employed, classification of jobs, wages, fringe benefits); and (c) “successful” adult adjustment relative to criteria presented in this article. Results are compared by graduation status (graduates vs. dropouts) and by year out of school (1 vs. 3). Results are discussed in relation to their implications for school programming and transition planning.

Vocational and Transition Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

“…Projects conducted in Washington (Edgar & Levine, 1987;Neel, Meadow, Levine, & Edgar, 1988) and Oregon provide results that reflect this generally poor profile for adolescents with ED. Studies from Iowa (Carson, Sitlington, & Frank, 1995;Sitlington, Frank, & Carson, 1993) found slightly higher-but still low-employment rates, hourly wages, and hours worked per week among their respondents with ED.…”

“…In contrast to this standard, in the NLTS, 58.6% of the participants with ED dropped out of school, as compared to 37.1 % 5 for all participants and 35.6% for participants with learning disabilities-far and away the highest dropout rate of any disability group. These findings are critical, as dropout status was associated with poor employment and community adjustment experiences in the NLTS (Wagner, Blackorby, Cameto, & Newman, 1993 ), a finding that has been replicated in othe_ r state-level studies (e.g., Carson et al, 1995).…”

Current Information on Dropout Prevention: Ideas From Practitioners and the Literature

“…Rylance argued convincingly that because all students who had data on vocational education participated in at least some related classes and/or work experiences, missing data (i.e., the school did not report any vocational education for the student) can be assumed to mean that the student did not receive any vocational education. Advocates for students with ED have long called for a greater emphasis on career education and schoolto-work experiences (e.g., Carson, Sitlington, & Frank, 1995;Cheney, Malloy, & Hager, 1998;Edgar, 1991;Wagner, 1991). This study by Rylance suggests that high school completion rates for students with ED might be improved if schools provided more vocational education experiences.…”

School Context and the Problem Behavior and Social Skills of Students with Emotional Disturbance

“…Excesses in problem behavior and deficits in social skills place students with ED at a uniquely high risk for a host of negative developmental outcomes, including school failure, relationship problems, drug and alcohol abuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, unemployment, poor community adjustment, and mental health problems as adults (e.g., Bradley et al 2004;Carson et al 1995;Carter and Wehby 2003;Fergusson and Horwood 1995;Frank et al 1995;Greenbaum et al 1996;Walker et al 2004). These harmful outcomes impact not only the students with ED, but also their families, schools, communities, and society as a whole.…”