Submitted by AHEAD Senior Research Associate, Sally Scott
AHEAD Information Services provides highlights of research articles from peer reviewed journals that have direct relevance for your daily work in the disability resource office.
Graduation Prospects of College Students with Specific Learning Disorders and Students with Mental Health Related Disabilities
Citation: Jorgensen, M., Budd, J., Fichten, C., Nguyen, M., & Havel, A. (2018). Graduation prospects of college students with specific learning disorders and students with mental health related disabilities. International Journal of Higher Education, 7(1), 19-31. Doi: 10.5430/ijhe.v7n1p19
Why is this Study Important?
Students with mental health disabilities and learning disabilities are among the most common types of disclosed disabilities on college campuses. But how do they fare in terms of persistence and graduation from college? Both forms of disability are non-visible disabilities—a group that some research indicates may take longer than students with visible disabilities to graduate from college. What are the similarities and differences in graduation prospects among students with mental health and learning disabilities?
A collaborative group of researchers lead by Mary Jorgensen from Adaptech Research Network in Montreal conducted a comparative study to learn more. They examined the role of academic and social inclusion, background variables, and other factors. The Theory of Planned Behavior guided the researchers to also consider students’ “intention to graduate.” Previously, the researchers had applied this theory with students with a variety of disabilities to predict academic persistence and graduation. In this study, they used measures of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control to see if there were difference among students with mental health and learning disabilities.
Research Methods
Jorgensen and her colleagues used an existing database of Canadian college students with diverse disabilities that had been developed for a previous study. For the current study, they selected a total of 110 students to include 55 with a self-reported diagnosis of learning disability (LD) and 55 students with a self-reported diagnosis of mental health disabilities. None of the participants reported multiple diagnoses. All students were enrolled in a two- or four-year certificate, degree, or diploma program.
The participants responded to online questions related to demographics and school information. In addition, students provided responses to four previously developed survey instruments with questions on the topics of college experience, intention to graduate, self-efficacy, and campus climate. (See the link to the full article below for more description and citation of these existing survey instruments as well as the statistical analysis procedures that were used.)
Some Key Findings
- Different demographic profiles: Students with mental health disabilities were significantly older than the students with LD and were more likely to be female.
- School related differences: Students with mental health disabilities reported lower social self-efficacy (e.g., comfort levels when interacting with faculty or peers) and felt more isolated on campus than students with LD.
- Registration with the Disability Resource Office: Students with mental health disabilities were less likely to be registered with the campus disability resource office or have access to disability related accommodations.
- Predictors of intention to graduate: For students with mental health disabilities, the most powerful predictors of intention to graduate were academic inclusion (e.g., meeting with academic advisors) and subjective norms (e.g., the views of family and friends related to graduation). For students with LD, the most important predictors were the degree of control students felt they had over graduation, social self-efficacy (e.g., comfort participating in class discussion), and subjective norms (similar to students with mental health disabilities).
- Alienation on campus: Students with mental health disabilities who felt less alienated on campus reported greater social self-efficacy and more control over whether they would graduate.
Limitations
The authors highlight possible limitations to the study. Participation by students was voluntary leading to possible self-selection bias; recruitment was through e-mail discussion lists and the disability resource office; there was a small sample size; and the study relied on student self-reported disability. There was no confirmation of diagnoses by the researchers.
Actionable Steps
The authors suggest several implications of these findings for disability resource offices.
- Given that students with mental health disabilities were less like to register with the Disability Resource Office, it is important to reach out to and collaborate with campus mental health professionals to increase awareness about services and ways to support students.
- Discuss mutual referral processes with mental health colleagues. Encourage mental health professionals to inform students of the kinds of accommodations students may benefit from when registered with the disability resource office.
- Reexamine the kinds of accommodations available for students with mental health disabilities through your office. Some of the accommodations recommended by the authors include quiet spaces, virtual office hours (e.g., Skype), extensions of deadlines for assignments, submitting assignments online, and video recording of classes. Talk with students about the barriers they are experiencing and think outside the traditional box of accommodations.
- Develop strategies to reduce the stigma and feelings of social alienation on campus reported by students. Do outreach to the campus community about barriers experienced by students. Connect with campus and community mental health providers to identify a broader network of support that may be available to students.
- Build a peer mentoring program or support network on campus. Consider promoting a student-led group such as a campus chapter of Active Minds (see activeminds.org ) to promote an institutional culture of support.
Want to know more about the methods, outcomes, and limitations of this research? You can access the article online at ScieduPress, the International Journal of Higher Education: http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/ijhe/article/view/12831
Have you published a research article or read a research study that informed your work? Email Sally Scott (sally@ahead.org ) with suggestions for future research summaries in the Hub!