Growing up with childhood chronic illness: Social success, educational/vocational distress

BACKGROUND: It is commonly believed that young adults with childhood onset chronic illness are less likely to get married or be socially successful than peers. Similarly, prior research suggests that this group has poor educational and vocational outcomes. However, few studies have directly compared this population to healthy peers. This study compares social, educational, and vocational outcomes for young adults with and without childhood onset chronic illness in a nationally representative sample.

METHODS: Data are from 13,961 respondents aged 26-32 years who participated in Wave IV (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We compared respondents who reported having childhood onset cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or epilepsy to healthy young adults in terms of social outcomes including living with parents, being married, having children, and romantic relationship quality. We also examined their educational attainment, employment, and income. Multivariate models controlled for socio-demographic factors and adult-onset chronic illness.

RESULTS: Approximately 2% of the sample (n=296) reported a childhood chronic illness. Compared to healthy peers, respondents with childhood chronic illnesses were equally likely to marry, have children, or live independently. However, the chronic illness group had lower odds of attending college (OR 0.57, 95%CI: 0.41-0.78), graduating college (OR 0.50, 95%CI: 0.31-0.78), and being employed (OR 0.64, 95%CI: 0.40-0.80), and higher odds of receiving public assistance (OR 2.13, 95%CI: 1.39-3.25).

CONCLUSIONS: While young adults growing up with chronic illness achieve social success, they have poorer educational and vocational outcomes, documenting a need for increased promotion of their educational and vocational development.