Review article
Preparing for Adulthood: A Systematic Review of Life Skill Programs for Youth with Physical Disabilities

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.06.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

With advances in health care, an increasing number of youth with physical disabilities are surviving into adulthood. For youth to reach their full potential, a number of critical life skills must be learned. Specific learning opportunities are important as youth with physical disabilities may be limited in the life experiences necessary to acquire these skills. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of life skill programs emphasizing independent functioning in preparation for adulthood among youth with physical disabilities.

Methods

A comprehensive search of electronic databases from 1985 to 2006 was undertaken to identify empirical studies examining the effectiveness of life skill programs for youth and young adults with acquired and congenital physical disabilities. Eligible studies were those with a comparison group and that targeted life skills (as defined by the World Health Organization).

Results

Six studies met the inclusion criteria. All used a multi-component group intervention containing a real-world or role-playing experiential component. Five of the six studies demonstrated short-term improvements in targeted life skills. Conclusions are limited because of heterogeneity of interventions, skill focus, disabilities, and outcome measures with respect to the effectiveness of individual components of the programs.

Conclusion

With more youth with physical disabilities surviving into adulthood, there is a need to ensure that they have the skills to successfully manage life demands. There are relatively few rigorously designed, published studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of life skill programs. Large-sample, randomized, controlled studies are needed.

Section snippets

Methods

A systematic review was undertaken to provide an unbiased and comprehensive summary of the best available evidence regarding life skill development among youth with physical disabilities. By using explicit and reproducible methods, a systematic review allows for more accurate and reliable conclusions; increased generalizability; and increased power and precision in estimating effect size when compared with a traditional literature review [14].

Results

The search strategy identified 5642 documents. Screening of titles and abstracts eliminated 5621 documents. Studies were excluded if there was no emphasis on life skill development, or the sample did not fit with the age group or type of disability for this project (e.g., developmental or learning disability). Studies were also excluded if there was no program evaluation found or if the focus was on the validation of tools related to measuring life skills. A total of 21 full-text unique

Discussion

The findings of this systematic review of the literature provide some support for the use of multi-component interventions as a means of developing life skills among youth with physical disabilities. With the exception of one study, short-term improvements in life skills were reported regardless of the skill focus, physical disability examined, or outcome measure used [12], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]. More specifically, a self-designed program for visually impaired youth demonstrated that a

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Pui-Ying Wong for her assistance in the development of the search strategy.

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