The Impact of Targeted Support Programming on College Students With Learning Disabilities
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between enrollment in structured and semi-structured support programming and the adjustment, stress, and coping among a sample of 186 undergraduate college students with learning disabilities. Participants aged 18 to 25 completed an online questionnaire composed of the items from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Ways of Coping Questionnaire WAYS), and select scales from the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 3rd Edition – SelfReport of Personality, College (BASC-3 SRP-COL). Information was also collected about participants’ grade point average (GPA), family involvement, and extracurricular involvement on campus to control for the impact of these factors. Findings demonstrated that students in supportive programming had significantly higher levels of Attachment to Institution. Further, students in programming engaged in the adaptive coping processes of Self-Controlling and Planful Problem Solving significantly more, and the maladaptive coping process of Confrontive Coping significantly less, than students receiving only accommodations. The former students reported significantly lower levels of social stress and school maladjustment, and higher levels of self-reliance and interpersonal relations than those not receiving support through targeted programming. However, students in supportive programming reported significantly higher perceived stress and lower levels of self-esteem than those receiving only accommodations. Collectively, findings emphasize the value of targeted support programming for undergraduate students with learning disabilities.
Subject Area
Disability studies|Higher education|Educational psychology|Special education
Recommended Citation
Siegel, Amanda N, "The Impact of Targeted Support Programming on College Students With Learning Disabilities" (2024). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI31239784.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI31239784
