Quality & Quantity

, Volume 51, Issue 2, pp 903–918 | Cite as

Positive perceptions and perceived control in families with children with intellectual disabilities: relationship to family quality of life

Article
First Online:

Abstract

Researchers in the field of disability are showing a growing interest in assessing the impact of having a child with disabilities on parental perceptions and family functioning. This study explores the relationships between positive perceptions, perceived control, and family quality of life (FQoL) in families of children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID), in order to assess whether positive perceptions and perceived control are predictors of FQoL. The Kansas inventory of parental perceptions was administered to a sample of 327 Spanish families with a child or adolescent with ID completed in order to assess their positive perceptions and perceived control, and the Spanish family quality of life scale (0–18 years) in order to assess FQoL. Linear regression analysis was applied to determine whether positive perceptions and perceived control were predictors of FQoL. Results indicated that families with higher levels of positive perceptions reported greater emotional wellbeing, better health and adaptation to disability, and higher levels of FQoL. Similarly, families with higher levels of perceived control reported better levels of FQoL and greater satisfaction with the services provided for their child. With the exception of employment status, demographic variables had no bearing on these significant relationships. These results may help service providers to develop new intervention strategies for families with children with ID, fostering their positive perceptions and perceived control and ultimately promoting their FQoL.

Keywords

Intellectual disability Families with children with intellectual disabilities Positive perceptions Perceived control Family quality of life 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation under the National R+D+i 2012–2014 (EDU2011-27353).

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Fina Ferrer
    • 1
  • Rosa Vilaseca
    • 1
  • Joan Guàrdia Olmos
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Developmental and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
  2. 2.Department of Methodology of the Behavioral Sciences, Institute for Research on the Brain, Cognition, and Behavior (IR3C)University of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain

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