Family quality of life among families with a child who has a severe neurodevelopmental disability: Impact of family and child socio-demographic factors.
Ethnicity and child care demands drive family quality of life in Northern Israel, repeating earlier Israeli results and echoing U.S. autism data.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Schertz et al. (2016) asked 123 Northern-Israeli parents to fill out the Family Quality of Life Survey. All families had a child with a severe neurodevelopmental disability such as autism or intellectual disability.
The team looked at how ethnicity, city versus village life, religiosity, and child dependence shaped the scores.
What they found
Families scored in the middle range on overall quality of life. Jewish families and city dwellers reported higher scores. Highly religious families and those whose children needed lots of daily help reported lower scores.
How this fits with other research
Keintz et al. (2011) ran the same survey across Israel five years earlier and also found middle-range scores. The 2016 study repeats the pattern, showing the finding is stable over time.
Mello et al. (2019) looked only at preschoolers with autism in the U.S. and again linked higher child functioning to better family quality of life, matching the "child dependence" result.
Titlestad et al. (2019) widened the lens to adults with intellectual disability and found that strong social ties and spiritual support raised scores. This seems to clash with Mitchell's finding that greater religiosity lowered scores. The difference is in how religiosity was measured: L et al. counted supportive faith activities, while Mitchell counted strict observance rules that can add stress.
Why it matters
If you work with Israeli families, know that city living and Jewish identity can be assets, while heavy religious demands or high child care needs signal risk. Use the survey to flag these families early and add respite or flexible scheduling to lighten their load.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We aimed to examine family quality of life (FQOL) of Northern Israeli families having a child with a severe neurodevelopmental disability and its relation to socio-demographics. The cohort included caregivers of 70 children ages (mean ± standard deviation) 5.36 ± 3.53 years. Families were two-parent (85.7%), lived in the periphery (67.1%) and included Jews (60%), Muslims (18.6%), Druze (14.3%) and Christians (7.1%). Religiosity included: secular (38.6%), traditional (31.4%), religious (30%). Children's diagnosis included autistic spectrum disorder (41.4%), intellectual disability (21.4%), cerebral palsy (17.1%), genetic syndromes (17.1%) and sensorineural hearing loss (2.9%). Degree of support (1-minimal,5-greatest) required by the child was 3.67 ± 1.28 for physical and 3.49 ± 1.36 for communication. Primary caregivers completed the FQOL Survey. Domain scores were highest for family relations and lowest for financial well-being. Dimension scores were highest for importance and lowest for opportunities. Overall FQOL approximated average. Jewish families and residents of a major urban area reported higher and more religious families reported lower overall FQOL. Regression analysis found ethnicity contributing to overall FQOL and domain scores with residence contributing to support from services. Ethnicity and child dependence contributed to dimension scores. Northern Israeli families having a child with a severe neurodevelopmental disability report average FQOL scores. However, family and child dependence characteristics affect FQOL scores. Professionals working with these families should consider FQOL information when making recommendations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.11.028