Social support for people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities: Participants' perspectives

Studies of social support continue to establish the relationship between psychological and physical well-being. An important development is the emphasis thatresearch now places upon the role of individual perceptions of received support and related conditions. The present study attempts to apply this approach topeople with mild or moderate disabilities. The participants were asked to describe the type of support offered by staff in response to a recent distressing event, and to report whether this support was helpful or unhelpful. Additionally, two vignettes were presented, the first involving a character feeling sad and the second featuring another feeling angry. Participants were asked to suggest ways in which they would respond to the main character in each story. Responses were categorized within the context of findings from the Social Support Questionnaire, a general measure of satisfaction with support available in times of distress. The research findings may lead to service providers developing a more sophisticated understanding of how to support individuals using their services, as well as assessing the potential for participants themselves to offer support to others.