Psychological, social, and functional parameters of the quality of life in older adults with a diagnosis of mental retardation in congregate and community based settings /
Quality of Life (QOL) issues are paramount in the service provision to older adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. Proxy raters at two facilities in Mississippi completed the Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL.Q) as representatives for 106 older adults diagnosed with mental retardation. T...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2003.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=764813571&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Quality of Life (QOL) issues are paramount in the service provision to older adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. Proxy raters at two facilities in Mississippi completed the Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL.Q) as representatives for 106 older adults diagnosed with mental retardation. The following research questions were addressed: (1) What are the most effective predictors of QOL in this sample? (2) Do individuals in different service settings have varying levels of Quality of Life? and (3) Does the factor structure found with this sample match the results of the factor analytic procedures provided by QOL.Q manual (Schalock and Keith, 1993)? In addressing the question of correlates of QOL, a General Linear Model univariate analysis of variance with fixed-effects was performed for each sub-scale and the independent variables. Only a small number of variables accounted for statistically significant portions of the variance found on the dependent measures. Participants from Facility One were perceived as having higher levels of competence, empowerment, and social belonging (p<.01), but not satisfaction (p=.91). When compared with individuals residing in congregate-housing, participants from the community-based group homes had higher scores on all scales of the QOL.Q. Finally, the factor structure proposed by Schalock and Keith (1993) did not match the factor structure of this sample. Staff members perceived greater levels of empowerment when a consumer had higher financial standing. Age was negatively correlated with competence or productivity. Also, higher levels of competence, empowerment and social belonging among participants at Facility One may be attributed to the presence of diverse living situations, differences in staff characteristics, or sampling error. The divergence of the factor structure (CMIN = 2903.686, df=745, p<.001, CMIN/df = 3.898; AGFI = .389, NFI = .242, and RMSEA= .166) from the original model proposed by Schalock and Keith (1993) is moderately consistent with a recent study by Kober and Eggleton (2002) which indicated divergent relationships between items and factors. Hence, additional research is needed to assess the utility of the QOL.Q as an accurate measure of QOL in older adults with intellectual disabilities. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology". |
| Physical Description: | xi, 133 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-83). |