Social support and intellectual disabilities: a comparison between social networks of adults with intellectual disability and those with physical disability.
Community activities alone leave adults with ID stuck with tiny, family-run networks—add explicit friendship coaching.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers compared the social circles of adults with intellectual disability to adults with physical disability. They asked each person to list who they spent time with and who gave them support. The study used surveys and small group interviews to map every participant's network.
The goal was to see if joining more community activities creates wider, more varied friendships for people with ID.
What they found
Adults with ID had smaller networks that were mostly family, paid staff, and other service users. Adults with physical disability had larger networks with more friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
Simply going to day programs or clubs did not lead to new, freely chosen friendships for the ID group. Activity attendance alone is not enough.
How this fits with other research
Geurts et al. (2008) showed that social support and good people skills predict life satisfaction in the same population. Lippold et al. (2009) now shows the raw material—actual friendships—is missing, so those skills have little to work on.
Bhaumik et al. (2009) found staff are willing to help adults with ID build intimate relationships, but families often block this. The small, family-heavy networks in Lippold et al. (2009) match that barrier.
Chou et al. (2010) reported that mothers who keep jobs and share caregiving feel healthier. Lippold et al. (2009) helps explain why: when mothers are the main hub of their adult child's social life, the load is heavy and the network stays narrow.
Why it matters
If you run day programs or social skills groups, do not count attendance as success. Build in specific steps like peer buddies, shared projects, and practice with inviting someone out. Track new non-paid contacts, not just minutes on site. Target both the family and the individual so everyone sees the value of widening the circle.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add one 'network expansion' target: teach the client to swap contact info with one new peer and plan a meet-up outside program hours.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Social support has been identified as a major protective factor in preventing mental health problems and also as a major contributor to quality of life. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been identified as having limited social support structures. Interventions have been focused on promoting their social presence and integration. However, previous studies have shown that this does not always lead to the formation of social relationships. To date few studies have looked at how having an ID leads to impoverished social networks. This study aimed to do this by contrasting the social relationships of people with physical disabilities (PD) and people with ID. METHODS: Two groups of participants were recruited; 30 people with mild ID and 17 people with PD. Social and functional support networks were assessed, in addition to life experiences. Between and within group differences were then explored statistically. RESULTS: Adults with ID had more restricted social networks than PD, despite being involved in more activities. Social support for adults with ID was mainly provided by family and carers and few relationships with non-disabled people were identified. In contrast adults with PD had larger social networks than had been reported in the mainstream literature and had a balance of relationships with disabled and non-disabled people. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that there are additional processes attached to having an ID, which lead to continued impoverished lifestyles. The findings also endorse other work that suggests being physically integrated and engaged in a wide range of activities does not guarantee good social and emotional support.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2009 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01170.x