Postsecondary Education Persistence of Adolescents With Specific Learning Disabilities or Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

While experiences of students with disabilities transitioning from high school to college have been well documented, the influence exerted by selected factors on these experiences is less well understood. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, the influence of selected risk and resilience factors on the short-term postsecondary educational outcomes, that is, persistence, of adolescents with specific learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders was examined. A logistic model revealed group differences between individuals with disabilities and peers without disabilities. All selected risk and resilience factors significantly predicted educational persistence. No significant differences were observed between adolescents with specific learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders, but three factors—grade point average, socioeconomic status, and number of friends having plans to attend a 4-year college—were significant predictors of educational persistence for adolescents with disabilities. Implications of these findings are discussed.