DISSOLUTION AND RECONSTITUTION OF FAMILIES WITH A DISABLED YOUNG PERSON

Abstract

Cross-sectional data on a large, nationally representative sample of disabled young people were obtained by personal interview. A comparative survey of young people in the general population, matched for age and location, was also conducted. The findings suggest that families with a disabled young person are just as likely as families in the general population to have both natural parents present. Where their natural parents were living apart, disabled young people were no more likely to be living in one-parent families than young people generally. There was no firm evidence that the presence, type and degree of disability in young people increased the risk of family dissolution or reduced the possibilities for reconstitution.