Learning disability and depression in young adulthood

It is well established that children and adolescents with learning disabilities are more likely to experience depressed mood than are their peers. Many scholars explain this relationship as resulting from low self-esteem, stress, or social isolation. However, little work has explored whether this relationship continues to exist into young adulthood. Using longitudinal data from national data, this study finds that young adults with physical and learning disabilities have higher levels of depression than do young adults who are not disabled. In almost every case, this relationship persists no matter the levels of self-esteem, self-perception and stress experienced by young adults with disabilities. Language: en