Relationship between Self-Perception of Individuals With Learning Disabilities and Coping Strategies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between one\u27s understanding of his/her own learning disability (LO) and coping strategies he/she employs to mitigate the effect of the disability. The subjects (N = 120) of this study were students with learning disabilities who attended and graduated from a private school in Richmond, Virginia between 1976 and 1997. A self­-developed questionnaire with two parts was used to collect data for this study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Of the 120 surveys mailed, 55 (45.8%) subjects responded. Hypothesis regarding relationship between knowledge and coping strategies tested using Pearson-r showed a significant relationship at .05 level. Chi-square was used to investigate relationship between coping strategies and graduation from private schools and relationship between coping strategies and college graduation. Findings also indicated there were no differences in year of graduation from the private school and the coping strateg ies utilized by the graduates.Also, no difference was found in the coping strategies used by college graduates and those who did not complete college. Similarly the time spent in private education was found to have no significance on an individuals\u27 knowledge level of his/her LD. Recommendations for future studies based on the results and limitations were discussed