The Close Relationships of People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Close relationships are valued and desired by PWID, but a variety of barriers inhibit their development and maintenance. This includes the failure of others to value, accept and appropriately support the independence and relationships of PWID. Potential ways of addressing these issues are discussed.

Is it possible to use interpretative phenomenological analysis in research with people who have intellectual disabilities?

“…Three studies looked at the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities as inpatients in hospital (Brown & Beail, ; Clarkson et al, ; Cookson & Dickson, ). Three further papers looked at the experience of diagnosis and disability (Dysch et al, ; Kenyon et al, ; Monteleone & Forrester Jones, ) and two at relationships (Rushbrooke et al, ; Sullivan et al, ). Other papers explored the experience of bereavement (McRitchie et al, ); ageing (Newberry et al, ); retirement from day centres (Judge et al, ); trauma (Mitchell et al, ); fire setting (Rose, Lees‐Warley, & Thrift, ); mental health (Robinson et al, ); ethnic minorities (Malik et al, ); self‐concept (Pestana, ); and identity (Dinwoodie et al, ).…”

“…Sixteen papers were rated as “acceptable” (Anslow, ; Brown & Beail, ; Dysch, Chung, & Fox, ; Gould & Dodd, ; Kenyon, Beail, & Jackson, ; MacMahon et al, ; Malik, Unwin, Larkin, Kroese, & Rose, ; McRitchie, McKenzie, Quayle, Harlin, & Neumann, ; Mitchell, Clegg, & Furniss, ; Monteleone & Forrester‐Jones, ; Newberry, Martin, & Robbins, ; Robinson, Escopri, Stenfert Kroese, & Rose, ; Rushbrooke, Murray, & Townsend, ; Shewan, McKenzie, Quayle, & Crawley, ; Sullivan et al, ; Wilson et al, ). All of these papers subscribed to the theoretical principles of IPA.…”

From Social Exclusion to Supported Inclusion: Adults with Intellectual Disability Discuss Their Lived Experiences of a Structured Social Group

“…This structure gives the message to people with intellectual disability that their relationships are valued and important which is important for individual identity and to reverse feelings of powerlessness and limited agency (Sullivan et al . ). That is, the social group acts to both create and develop friendships and make the possibility of more intimate relationships more likely.…”

“…Sullivan et al . ). Many supportive families provide this, and as our findings show, these characteristics underpin participation in the social group where friendships and other more intimate relationships have a chance of forming.…”

Identifying conceptualizations and theories of change embedded in interventions to facilitate community participation for people with intellectual disability: A scoping review

“…Proposals to remove articles were reviewed by the first author, and where there was disagreement, both authors read the full article again and discussed any differences in order to reach a consensus. The articles removed fell into the following groups: reporting of broad empirical data about or an aspect of community participation for particular subgroups or from broad multifaceted initiatives (e.g., Andrews et al, 2014;Power, 2013;Sullivan, Bowden, McKenzie, & Quayle, 2016); conceptual articles theorizing the nature of community participation (e.g., Bates & Davis, 2004;Bigby, 2012;Hall, 2010;; analysis, commentary or reviews of polices or strategies to support community participation without empirical data about outcomes (Amado, 2014); general articles describing perspectives of people with intellectual disability about community participation (e.g., McClimens, Partridge, & Sexton, 2014;Welsby & Horsfall, 2011); and, describing broadly, factors associated with or barriers and facilitators to community participation (Abraham, Gregory, Wolf, & Pemberton, 2002;Beart, Hawkins, Kroese, Smithson, & Tolosa, 2001). …”