Patterns of social participation among people with developmental disabilities and associated factors in South Korea.
South Koreans with DD fall into four stable social-participation groups; mild disability plus family support predicts the active group.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kyung and colleagues asked 3,000 South Koreans with developmental disabilities how often they join clubs, sports, or community events.
They used a computer model to sort people into groups based on their answers.
What they found
Four clear patterns popped out: active, moderately active, passive, and excluded.
Teens with mild disabilities and strong family support were most likely to land in the active group.
How this fits with other research
Sacco et al. (2010) also found four groups, but in Italian kids with autism. They linked each group to body markers like sleep or immune issues. Kyung links groups to daily life instead.
Butler et al. (2021) showed that what people like can stay stable for a year. Kyung shows that how people join in can also stay stable, giving you two steady pieces to plan around.
Dagnan et al. (2005) built a switch test for clients who can barely move. Kyung gives a survey tool for the same population when you want to know their social life, not just their favorite toy.
Why it matters
You can now screen clients in minutes and see which of the four buckets they fit. If they land in passive or excluded, bump up family training and peer outings first. If they are already active, keep the schedule but track it yearly like you track edible preferences.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite growing interest in expanding the scope of social participation from passive to active, few studies have empirically examined participation patterns among people with developmental disabilities (DD), particularly in South Korea. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) identify latent classes of social participation among individuals with DD and (2) examine demographic, physiological, and psychosocial characteristics associated with each class. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2020 Survey of Work and Life with Developmental Disabilities in South Korea (N = 3000). Latent Class Analysis (LCA), using 14 indicators of social participation, identified subgroups. Subsequently, multinomial logistic regression examined the associations between class membership and demographic, physiological, and psychosocial characteristics. RESULTS: The LCA identified four social participation classes: (1) active involvement (21.8 %), characterized by high functioning and diverse social engagement; (2) moderately active involvement (11.6 %), with relatively high engagement in cultural and leisure activities despite lower ADL/IADL functioning and self-determination; (3) passive involvement (40.1 %), with low social participation despite fewer daily functioning difficulties; and (4) social exclusion (26.5 %), marked by major difficulties in both daily and social activities. Multinomial regression analysis showed that the active or moderately active involvement classes were more likely to report individuals aged 10-30, with a college education, high smartphone proficiency, good health, mild disabilities, and high family support than the social exclusion class. Interestingly, the moderately active involvement class was more likely to be teens and at risk of discrimination compared to the social exclusion class, while the passive involvement class was more likely to be over 40 compared to the other three classes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of considering the unique characteristics of each class in effectively promoting active social participation among individuals with DD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105138