Self-Determination in People with Intellectual Disability: The Mediating Role of Opportunities

Abstract

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have proclaimed the basic right of people to make one’s own choices, have an effective participation and inclusion. Research in the field of disability have stressed self-determination as a key construct because of its impact on their quality of life and the achievement of desired educational and adulthood related outcomes. Self-determination development must be promoted through specific strategies and especially, by providing tailored opportunities to practice those skills. Providing these opportunities across environments could be especially relevant as a facilitator of self-determination development. This manuscript aims to ascertain if opportunities at home and in the community to engage in self-determined actions are mediating the relationship between people intellectual disability level and their self-determination. Results have confirmed direct effects of intellectual disability level on self-determination scores. Indirect effects also predicted self-determination and almost all its related components (self-initiation, self-direction, self-regulation, self-realization, and empowerment) through opportunities in the community and at home. Autonomy was predicted by the intellectual disability level through an indirect effect of opportunities at home, but not in the community. These results highlight the need for further research to better operationalize and promote contextually rooted opportunities for people with intellectual disability to become more self-determined.

Levels of self‐determination in the ageing population with intellectual disabilities

“…Based on these premises, the current literature highlights the need to further study the self‐determination skills of this group and the variables that can affect it. In particular, they suggest further research on elements that influence the development of self‐determination, such as age (Kåhlin et al, 2016; Wehmeyer, 2020), place of residence (Kåhlin et al, 2016; Sexton et al, 2016), characteristics of support received (Vicente et al, 2020), mental health issues (Behzadnia et al, 2020; Tang et al, 2020) and gender (McCausland et al, 2018).…”

Teachers' Perceptions of Self-Determination among Deaf / Hard of Hearing Students

“…A lack of autonomy leads to a lower level of production and motivation [8]. Regarding the applied level, self-determination skills are important for students with learning disabilities (LD) at all stages of education and beyond [9].…”

“…The literature indicates that students with mild mental disabilities possess a moderate level of selfdetermination skills but then show remarkable improvement after the implementation of a training program that links their experiences with reality in the development of the skills of making choices and decision-making [9,13]. The level of psychological empowerment, self-regulation, and self-realization among students with mental disabilities varies on the scale of self-determination skills in accordance with the opportunities available in the community and at home.…”

Self-Determination Competencies, (Dis)Agreement in Decision-Making, and Personal Well-Being of Adults with Mild Intellectual Disabilities in Hong Kong

“…In a cross-context comparison, Spanish youths with ID enjoyed more self-determination opportunities at school than at home [16] and many of their parents had little knowledge of self-determination and exhibited an over-protective manner towards their children [17]. A recent study also observed a mediating role of environmental opportunities in the relationship between self-determination and ID level [18].…”