Congregational Participation of a National Sample of Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Religious services are a realistic community target for many adults with IDD, though still less common than everyday outings.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Whiting et al. (2015) asked a national sample of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities if they went to church, mosque, temple, or other religious services in the past month.
They compared worship attendance to other everyday community activities like shopping or visiting friends.
What they found
Almost half of the adults had attended a religious service at least once in the past month.
Religious participation was common, but it still happened less often than shopping, eating out, or seeing friends.
How this fits with other research
Hagopian et al. (2005) painted a darker picture: residents with profound ID got only 3.8 hours of weekend leisure, mostly TV. The two studies seem opposite, yet they look at different groups. W et al. sampled adults across living settings; P et al. looked only at people with the most severe disabilities in large facilities.
Salmi et al. (2010) showed that by 2008 most adults with IDD lived in small community homes, not big institutions. That shift gives more chance for church attendance, matching the higher rates W et al. found.
Mansell et al. (2002) used the same survey style to show community homes now serve people with complex needs. Together these papers trace a line: smaller homes → more community access → more worship attendance.
Why it matters
If you support adults with IDD, treat faith life like any other community goal. Ask about it in planning, offer transport, and build a support plan that includes the person’s chosen place of worship. A simple ride or a peer buddy can turn “I want to go” into “I went.”
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to thrive requires careful consideration of multiple avenues of community involvement. Yet little attention has focused on the place of faith community participation in the lives of adults with IDD. We examined attendance at religious services using National Core Indicator data for a sample of 12,706 adults with IDD residing in 24 states. Almost half of adults (48.3%) reported attending a religious service in the past month, and more than one third (34.6%) attended 3 or more times. Religious involvement varied considerably based on a variety of individual (e.g., race, disability type, behavioral support needs, communication mode) and contextual factors (e.g., geographic locale, residential type). Moreover, monthly involvement in religious activities was much less common than participation in other community activities (i.e., exercise, entertainment, eating out, shopping). We offer recommendations for supporting the spiritual lives of adults with IDD, as well as highlight areas for future research and practice.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-53.6.381