Young people with disabilities are significantly less likely to be satisfied with their lives than young people without disabilities. This is due, among other things, to the fact that they are more frequently discriminated against and have worse opportunities to participate in society, as shown by the study “Inclusion Barometer Youth” by the social organization Aktion Mensch. People between the ages of 14 and 27 with and without disabilities were surveyed.
According to the study, only about half (53 percent) of people with disabilities in this age group are satisfied with their lives overall – for people without disabilities, the figure is more than three quarters (78 percent). While 61 percent of people without disabilities have experienced discrimination, the figure for those with disabilities is 85 percent.
More often lonely and less self-determined
According to the study, the difference in social participation is also serious: young people with disabilities feel lonely twice as often (26 percent) as others (13 percent). They also find it three times as difficult to make new friends. They also feel less self-determined and less free in choosing a school, training or university. At 41 percent, they are also significantly more likely to have concerns about the future than young people without disabilities (16 percent).
“The figures make it clear: There is still a long way to go before diversity is perceived by the majority as normal or even as an advantage for our society. That is why inclusion is so important from the very beginning in all areas of life,” stressed Christina Marx, spokeswoman for Aktion Mensch. “If equal coexistence is learned and practiced from birth, everyone benefits and the spiral of discrimination does not even begin.”
For the comparative study, in cooperation with the market research company Ipsos, people aged 14 to 27 were surveyed nationwide between November 2023 and February 2024, 718 with disabilities and 724 without.
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