Abstract:

The number of students with disabilities attending higher education institutions is growing rapidly (Snyder & Dillow, 2013). These students may experience a chilly climate (e.g., stereotypes, assumptions, exclusion) (e.g., Elliott et al., 2011). One of the factors that may help them is good self-advocacy skills.

Self-advocacy includes the ability to communicate needs and wants, locate services, and obtain necessary supports (Stodden et al., 2003). Research has shown that self-advocacy skills are related to successful college adjustment, persistence, academic performance, and a sense of belonging (e.g., Daly-Cano et al., 2015). The current study examined the contribution of academic self-efficacy and use of institutional support to self-advocacy of college students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Participants were 452 college students (331 women, 121 men) between the ages 18 and 50 (M = 28.05, SD = 7.24). Among them, 231 were diagnosed with a disability: 48 with LD, 148 with ADHD, and 35 with both LD and ADHD. Sixty-three students with disabilities and 24 students without disabilities stated using support services in their college. All participants completed an on-line questionnaire measuring self-advocacy, academic self-efficacy, and background data.

The contribution of students' disability, academic self-efficacy, and use of institutional support to their self-advocacy was examined through four hierarchical regression analyses for each of the factors of self-advocacy which were measured (knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership). All analyses yield significant results explaining 20% of the variance of knowledge of self, 11% of the variance of knowledge of rights, 15% of the variance of communication, and 5% of the variance of leadership. Having a disability was a significant predictor of knowledge of rights (β = .14, p < .01) and leadership (β = .16, p < .001); academic self-efficacy was a significant predictor of knowledge of self (β = .44, p < .001), knowledge of rights (β = .32, p < .001), and communication (β = .38, p < .001); and use of institutional support was a significant predictor of knowledge of rights (β = -.11, p < .05) and leadership (β = -.12, p < .05). Participants with LD and or ADHD reported lower levels of knowledge of rights and leadership than participants with no disability; participants with high levels of academic self-efficacy reported higher levels of knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, and communication; and participants who used institutional support reported higher levels of knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership, and total score of self-advocacy.

The study's findings show that the four self-advocacy factors are associated differently with disability status, academic self-efficacy, and use of institutional support. In addition, the finding that institutional support was related to most of the self-advocacy factors, except for knowledge of self, may be explained by the fact that the support centers' programs were not always geared towards the development of metacognitive processes of self-awareness. Implications for research and practice are suggested.

Keywords:

Self advocacy, Self-efficacy, College Student, Learning disability, A, D.H, d.