Social Exclusion of Children with Disability and Their Families in Türkiye: Are Discriminative or Structural Factors in Play?

Faruk Keskin, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies
Ayse Abbasoglu Ozgoren, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies

Social exclusion among children with disabilities often manifests in education, employment, and recreational domains, leading to poorer outcomes compared to their non-disabled peers. This study investigates the social exclusion of children with disabilities and their families in Türkiye, focusing on whether structural factors or discrimination play a more significant role. Drawing on the 2022 Türkiye Child Survey microdata, this research analyzes social exclusion through descriptive and multivariate methods, with particular emphasis on educational attainment, household wealth, and leisure activities. The study utilizes the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique to separate the observed determinants, such as demographic characteristics, from unobserved factors, primarily discrimination based on disability status. Türkiye provides a compelling context for studying this phenomenon due to its young disabled population and the high risk of social exclusion among disabled individuals. This research adopts a biopsychosocial framework, integrating both medical and social models of disability. The study also contributes to the literature by quantitatively examining a developing country context, where existing studies often focus on legal frameworks or qualitative analyses. The findings will provide critical insights into the drivers of social exclusion, with implications for policy and future research on the social inclusion of children with disabilities.

Keywords: Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Decomposition analysis, Health and Morbidity

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