Spirituality and People with Intellectual Disabilities: Comparing the Significance of Spirituality in Faith and Non-Faith Based Care Services

Background and Aim: The spiritual lives of people with ID has been under researched (Swinton, 2002; Turner et al., 2004) and as yet, no research has been carried out comparing faith-based and non-faith-based services for people with ID. This research explores and compares a faith-based care organisation with a non-faith based care organisation with the aim of investigating the significance of spiritual/religious based principles as modes of care to the quality of life of individuals, acknowledging that non-faith based care providers may provide ‘a spiritual/religious environment’, explicitly or non-explicitly.

Method: A mixed-method design using both qualitative and quantitative methods was utilised. Six months were spent volunteering within each community in order to engage in participant observation of both care organisations. Quantitative methods included the Quality of Life Questionnaire; Self-esteem Scale and the Social Network Guide in addition to semi-structured interview schedules.

Results: People with ID were found to enjoy spiritual/religious based activities, with spirituality being an important aspect of their quality of life. Staff from the non-faith based service provided religious spiritual care mainly through church attendance, whilst staff from the faith-based service provided both religious and non-religious spiritual care. Staff from both care services reported that practical implementation of spiritual/ religious care tended to be overridden by legalistic administrative tasks, communication issues and staff availability.

Conclusion: There is a need for ID services to not only acknowledge but also facilitate spirituality in the lives of people with ID.