Seeking strengths in young people with physical disabilities, learning from the self-perceptions of children and young adults

grantor: University of TorontoIt is often assumed that life with a physical disability is dominated by difficulties, disappointments and lost opportunities. As a result there is a popular assumption that young people with physical disabilities will not have a positive sense of self. In this cross-sectional study I explore the self-perceptions of young people who were born with physical disabilities (spina bifida) and who acquired disabilities (spinal cord injury), and factors that may contribute to their sense of self-worth. Eighty-five young people with spina bifida or spinal cord injury, between the ages of 8 and 23 years, took part in this study. All participants completed age-appropriate standardized questionnaires measuring self-perception (including self-worth), the perceived importance of each self-perception domain to self-worth, and perceptions of social support. Seven key variables were identified for analysis: diagnosis (representing the two different timings of onset of disability), gender, age, mode of mobility (representing severity of disability), perceived support of parents, perceived support of close friends, and family income. Findings reveal that the majority of young people had a positive sense of self and that on average their scores for global self-worth did not differ substantially from those of their non-disabled peers. There were significant correlations between perceptions of self-worth and onset of disability (born with-spina bifida, acquired-spinal cord injury), age, perceived social support of close friends, perceived social support from parents, and family income. In bivariate analysis neither gender nor severity of disability were significantly associated with global self-worth, however, the power to detect a true difference was low for these variables. Regression analysis revealed that Perceived social support from parents was a stronger predictor of self-worth than gender, age or diagnosis (onset of disability). Implications of this study are discussed in terms of social work practice and the potential for social workers to intervene with both young people with disabilities and their parents. Social work interventions with parents focus on the potential positive associations between parental support and global self-worth and the importance for parents to challenge traditional notions of life with a disability. Interventions with young people with disabilities focus on early interventions to support emerging sense of self and developing a stronger support network among friends. Finally an advocacy role for social workers in enhancing attitudes toward disability is addressed. implications for future research endeavours are also outlined.Ph.D