Self-Determination and Struggle in the Lives of Adolescents.

This report discusses a study that examined the development of self-determination in six high school students with disabilities and five typical students. Data were obtained through four voluntary, in-depth, open-ended interviews with each student, conducted over the course of the 1998-1999 school year, supplemented by interviews with school staff and participant observations. Students were classified with regard to two concepts closely linked to the development of self-determination: struggle and self-definition. Four categories of students emerged: (1) full array, in which students had multiple sources of support they felt comfortable using and consistently made daily and long-term decisions that were well thought-out and had positive consequences; (2) peer dominated, in which students struggled with their families, consistently relied on their peers for most of their needs, and often had emotional distress and poorer decision-making skills; (3) parent dominated, in which students had insufficient independence, did not connect with their peers, and their parents often made decisions for them and dominated their relationship with school personnel; and (4) replacements, in which students lacked strong parental or family support and replaced missing support figures with friends, teachers, or other school personnel. Characteristics of each category are identified and suggestions for support are provided. (CR)