An Italian–Australian comparison of quality of life among people with intellectual disability living in the community

Abstract

This paper reports the measurement of both objective and subjective quality of life in samples of people either with intellectual disability or from the general adult population, drawn from Australia and Italy. Measures were made using the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale. Generally, it was found that the scores for all groups were comparable. This finding is consistent with the provision of generally decent objective living conditions in both countries and subjective well-being homeostasis, wherein subjective quality of life is held within a predictable range. These results are discussed in the context of measurement difficulties imposed by the need for simple Likert scales and subjective data which are strongly negatively skewed.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Australians with Parkinson Disease: A Comparison with International Studies

“…Similar findings have been observed in previous cross-cultural studies examining the QOL of Australians in the general population. [43][44][45] Midlife men and women living in Australia have been shown to have better QOL than individuals living in Taiwan. 43 Adults in Hong Kong and Italy have also reported lower levels of life satisfaction and personal well-being than people living in Australia.…”

“…43 Adults in Hong Kong and Italy have also reported lower levels of life satisfaction and personal well-being than people living in Australia. 44,45 Caution is required when interpreting these findings, given the methodological and statistical heterogeneity observed among studies from different countries. Differences in participant characteristics, such as disease severity, disease duration, and age, may contribute to the finding of better HRQOL in Australians with PD.…”

Living with support in the community: Predictors of satisfaction with life

“…The most likely reason is a lack of task comprehension on the part of some respondents leading to a positive response set, or "Yeasaying" [Sigelman et al, 1981], such that they persistently choose the most positive response possible. Authors generally fail to report whether they have checked their data for such response sets, which are far more likely to occur in people with severe/moderate levels of intellectual disability than in the general population [see e.g., Verri et al, 1999]. 2.…”

Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en personas con discapacidad intelectual en España

“…Estos resultados coinciden con los encontrados en otros países (21,22). Sin embargo, se debe resaltar que mientras la dimensión función social recibió la mayor puntuación (96 puntos) en la población general, en la población estudiada aquí la puntuación fue solo de 83,07 puntos (P < 0,05).…”

“…Se ha demostrado que los niveles de calidad de vida entre las personas con discapacidad intelectual que viven integradas en la comunidad y la población general son similares (21). Sin embargo, la satisfacción con el estilo de vida y el uso del tiempo libre de los discapacitados no integrados a la comunidad que viven en instituciones es significativamente peor que en sus pares que viven en apartamentos de integración o con sus padres.…”