Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disabilities at Vocational Training Schools

Abstract

This study reports a comparative profile of Quality of Life of people with intellectual disabilities attending vocational training schools in Chile. To this end, the QOL profile of people with disabilities (N=751) was obtained by means of a Subjective Assessment. Equally, the professionals in charge of the people with intellectual disabilities (N=82) were also assessed by means of an Objective Assessment. The self-perception of people with intellectual disabilities in respect to their Quality of Life was higher than the perception of the professionals in charge of them. In the Subjective Assesment used to obtain the profile of people with disabilities, the Occupational Wellbeing dimension stood out, and in the Objective Assessment, the Social Inclusion dimension emerged. Furthermore, Self-determination stood out as one of the dimensions with the lowest level of achievement in both assessments. It was also found that the female group had a better perception of the Occupational Wellbeing dimension and the male group had a better perception of the Emotional and Psychological Wellbeing dimension. In respect to the Objective Assessment, significant differences in the Social Inclusion dimension were found, favoring the male group; likewise, significant differences favoring the female group were also found regarding the Occupational Wellbeing dimension. Additionally, the highest scores in the dimensions of Self-determination, Material Wellbeing and Social Inclusion were given by the professionals working at schools with a social paradigm.