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The Impact of Personal and Environmental Characteristics on Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disability

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Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to examine the factors that can affect or predict the quality of life (QOL) of people with intellectual disability (ID). Two groups of factors were analyzed: (a) personal characteristics (gender, diagnosis, and age) and (b) environmental characteristics (living circumstances, daytime activity, and geographical location). Data were collected from 1264 individuals with mild or moderate ID levels and their proxies. QOL was assessed by the Escala Pessoal de Resultados (EPR), the Portuguese version of the Personal Outcomes Scale. The results showed that both sets of characteristics influenced the QOL scores of adults with ID. Furthermore, findings revealed that (a) the factors that strongly affected the QOL scores were diagnosis, age, living circumstances, and daytime activity; (b) the factors that strongly predicted the QOL scores were diagnosis, living circumstances, and daytime activity; and (c) the factors self-reported and reported by the proxies were similar. Implications for practitioners, service systems, and public policies that are directed towards addressing the supports of people with ID are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript has not been submitted to any other journal.

This manuscript has not been funded by any source.

The research has been approved by the ethics committee of the Centro Hospitalar de São João-Porto.

Thanks for all support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Cristina Simões

  2. Center for the Study of Special Education, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Sofia Santos

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  1. Cristina Simões
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  2. Sofia Santos
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Correspondence to Cristina Simões.

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Simões, C., Santos, S. The Impact of Personal and Environmental Characteristics on Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disability. Applied Research Quality Life 12, 389–408 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9466-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9466-7

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