Impact of Organized Activity Participation on Emotional Distress for Adolescents with Disabilities

Adolescents who have been diagnosed with disabilities constitute a significant portion of the school population in the United States. For example, the National Survey of Children's Health identified one in four children ages 12 to 17 as having special healthcare needs in 2019 (Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, n.d.). In the school setting, adolescents with disabilities often have an individualized educational program (IEP). Mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) of 2004, an IEP is an educational document that describes a child's disability, along with specific supports a child will receive in school to help achieve optimum educational and developmental success (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). Adolescents with disabilities demonstrate a higher risk for emotional distress compared to age-matched peers (Barnes et al., 2010; Emerson et al., 2007; Gilmore et al., 2013; Stein et al., 2011; Rockett, 2021; Lal et al., 2022). A large body of research has investigated the role of protective factors in decreasing the level of emotional distress among adolescents (Bernat et al., 2006; Resnick et al., 1997). Many protective factors have been identified, including protective home environments, adequate sleep (So et al., 2021), strong parental or other adult relationships (Sieving et al., 2017), and involvement in organized activities, such as sports (Brosnahan et al., 2004; Johnson & Taliaferro, 2011; Boelens et al., 2021). Although a higher risk of co-occurring mental health conditions among adolescents with disabilities and a positive benefit of activity involvement are both well-recognized in the literature, few studies have evaluated the possible overlap between these two areas. The goal of the current study, therefore, is to examine the associations between having an IEP and emotional distress among adolescents and the potential protective association of organized activity involvement on emotional distress symptoms among adolescents with an IEP.