This study aims to elucidate the correlation between career communication with parents of students with disabilities, their acceptance of their disability, and their self-esteem. Furthermore, it examines whether acceptance of their disability mediates...
This study aims to elucidate the correlation between career communication with parents of students with disabilities, their acceptance of their disability, and their self-esteem. Furthermore, it examines whether acceptance of their disability mediates the relationship between career communication with parents and their self-esteem. To achieve these objectives, the following research questions were addressed.
First, what is the relationship among career communication with parents, acceptance of their disability, and self-esteem of students with disabilities? Second, does career communication with parents of students with disabilities influence their self-esteem through acceptance of their disability? Third, when controlling for the age and severity of the disability, does acceptance of their disability mediate the relationship between career communication with parents and their self-esteem?
To address these research questions, a secondary analysis was conducted using data from the 5th Year(2022) of the Disability and Life Dynamics Panel provided by the Korea Disabled People's Development Institute. This analysis targeted students with disabilities enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools. A total of 670 students were surveyed, including 514 elementary school students, 112 middle school students, and 44 high school students. There were no non-responses. Key research findings derived from this data are as follows.
First, parental career conversations showed a low but significant positive correlation with acceptance of disability(r=.200, p<.001). Acceptance of disability and self-esteem showed a statistically significant positive correlation(r=.527, p<.001). Parental career conversations and self-esteem also showed a low but significant positive correlation(r=.198, p<.001). Second, the mediating effect of acceptance of disability on the relationship between parental career conversations and self-esteem in students with disabilities was verified (B=.044, 95% CI=[.024-.066]). Third, even after controlling for age and disability severity, the results of this study showed that career conversations with parents of students with disabilities significantly impacted their self-esteem, and that acceptance of disability continued to play a mediating role.
These findings differ from previous studies in that they examined the mediating role of acceptance of disability in the impact of parent-child career conversations on self-esteem in adolescent students with disabilities. These results highlight the need to comprehensively consider both career conversations with parents and disability-related psychological variables to understand the self-esteem of students with disabilities.