Brief ReportMarriage trends among Americans with childhood-onset disabilities, 1997–2013
Section snippets
Data
Data were obtained from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a repeated cross-sectional survey of non-institutionalized civilians conducted annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Secondary analysis of these de-identified data did not require Institutional Review Board approval. Annual NHIS data and documentation are maintained online by the CDC.19 The 1997–2013 surveys were pooled to create the study dataset. Earlier years were excluded due to different survey
Results
Table 1 summarizes sample characteristics by childhood-onset disability status. The proportion of adults ages 18–44 who reported childhood-onset disabilities was 2%, whereas 3% reported adult-onset disabilities. Respiratory, musculoskeletal, and congenital problems were the most common conditions reported as childhood-onset disabilities. The proportion of adults who had ever married was lower among respondents with childhood-onset disabilities (0.38; 95% CI = 0.36, 0.39) than among respondents
Conclusions
The disability rights movement achieved the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and related laws prohibiting institutional discrimination against people with disabilities and requiring accessibility of public and private spaces.3 Yet, people growing up with disabilities remain less likely than people without disabilities to reach milestones in the transition to adulthood, such as employment, independent living, or marriage.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 The present analysis estimated period trends
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Disclosures: the author has no conflicts of interest to declare.