Research project Overlooked Children in Need (ORCHID)
The project “Overlooked Children in Need (ORCHID)” aims to investigate the impact of parental disability on their children's outcomes from birth to young adulthood in Sweden, as well as to evaluate potential contributing and buffering factors, including the policy environment.
Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by, among other things, economic difficulties, unemployment, social exclusion, and limited access to healthcare, which can impact their children both in the short and long term. However, the needs of these children are largely unexplored in the Swedish context.
This project aims to uncover the extent to which children of parents with disabilities are affected by disadvantages, and to identify potential pathways for policy interventions aimed at reducing disability-related inequalities and intergenerational transmission of disadvantages.
Project description
Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by, among other things, economic difficulties, unemployment, social exclusion, and limited access to healthcare, which can impact their children both in the short and long term. However, the needs of these children are largely unexplored in the Swedish context. As such, it is unclear to what extent children of parents with disabilities fare worse than children of parents without disability and what factors may explain or help to reduce their disadvantages.
The project will mainly utilize multigenerational linked longitudinal data from Swedish national registers on all children and youth aged 0-30 years. We will study the associations between parental disability status and various facets of child development and well-being across multiple domains. These include aspects such as health, health and social service use, educational outcomes, criminal conviction, employment prospects in the transition to adulthood, and family formation in young adulthood. We will estimate the extent to which adverse factors experienced by the disabled parents or their children explain unequal child outcomes related to parental disability. We will also evaluate the impact of disability rights legislation on children of parents with disabilities.
In conclusion, this project aims to uncover the extent to which children of parents with disabilities are affected by disadvantages, and to identify potential pathways for policy interventions aimed at reducing disability-related inequalities and intergenerational transmission of disadvantages.
Project members
Project managers
Members
Mikael Rostila
Professor
Ylva Brännström Almquist
Professor
Alessandra Grotta
Researcher
Anna Thalén
Research Assistant
Ayako Hiyoshi
Guest Researcher
