While there have been steady increases in postsecondary education attendance by students with learning disabilities (LD), limited research has examined secondary schooling factors that may affect and promote their postsecondary educational aspirations and enrollment. Drawing on a sample of 370 students with LD from the National Longitudinal…

Because of its significant impact on overall life satisfaction, employment satisfaction is one marker for determining successful adult outcomes. The present investigation reports the perceptions of employment satisfaction for 500 graduates with learning disabilities from three postsecondary institutions. The graduates reported high levels of…

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised short-form procedures were used with 69 adolescents with slow school progress. The Satz-Mogel model was most effective in predicting the Full-Scale IQ. The Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and selected five or six subtest combinations were also helpful predictors. Short-form procedures are inadequate for…

The use of multiple regression in identifying students with learning disabilities was investigated with 281 ninth grade students. Five sets of predictor variables were chosen to predict grade point average in grade 9: verbal and nonverbal IQ, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and grade point average in grade 7. Five groups of overachievers, normal…

A study involving 88 eighth-graders investigated the relationship between students' self-concept, both in a global sense and more specific areas, with achievement scores in reading and mathematics. Results found a significant correlation between global self-concept and reading achievement and a weaker positive correlation for mathematics…

Research is reviewed on stress, depression, and suicide among adolescents with learning disabilities from the risk resilience perspective. Adolescents with nonverbal learning disabilities and/or those who are less academically adept manifest higher rates of depression. Some evidence also exists to support an increased risk of suicide among this…

A study investigated self-efficacy beliefs, sources of efficacy information, person input variables, and outcome expectations in relationship to the career interests of 96 adolescents with learning disabilities. Self-efficacy beliefs were found to be a substantial predictor of career interests and to consistently mediate the relationship of other…

The study examined the relationship between extreme levels of depressive symptomatology and age, gender, and placement label among 465 secondary-level students in special education resource programs for the seriously emotionally disturbed and learning disabled. Gender was the only significant predictor of severe depressive symptomatology, with…

This review examines and summarizes 16 research studies examining the writing self-efficacy beliefs of 6th to 10th grade students. In the majority of the studies, self-efficacy was found to play a primary role in predicting student writing performance. Students with learning disabilities were found to over-estimate their ability to complete…

Discussion of regulation of learning, mind orientation, and distraction focuses on two studies of 12- to 14-year-old students with weak concentration abilities from a special education secondary school who were asked to solve arithmetic word problems. These studies explored individual differences in self-regulation processes, and the effect of…

A follow-up study involving 140 special education graduates found vocational education, work-study participation, attending a rural school, and having a learning disability were the best predictors of full-time employment after graduation. Participation in regular academics and attending a suburban school were the best predictors of postsecondary…

Research on self-concept, attributions, anxiety, depression, and suicide among adolescents with learning disability is examined for the purpose of detecting consistency of emotional and developmental indicators. Analysis indicates that these students appear to be at increased risk for severe depression and suicide. (Author/DB)

Secondary students (88 with learning disabilities and 103 without) completed a substance abuse screening inventory. Of the 30 students who were classified as chemically dependent, 70% were students with learning disabilities. The presence or absence of a learning disability was a better predictor of chemical dependency than gender, ethnicity, age,…

Social incompetence is a significant cause of postsecondary maladjustment for the learning disabled. The literature is reviewed on factors critical to occupational success; social development of the learning disabled; major social incompetencies (specifically, social perception and problem solving, task-related social behaviors, and social…

A drug and alcohol survey was administered to 283 secondary school students in a large suburban school district in the eastern United States. The survey covered demographic information, life events, coping strategies, and prevalence of substance abuse, asking students about initial and current use of a wide range of substances including alcohol,…