Personal Support Networks of Young People with Mild Intellectual Disabilities during the Transition to Adult Life.

Gemma Díaz-Garolera,Ana Rey,Carolina Puyaltó,Judit Fullana,Rosario Fernández-Peña

doi:10.3390/ijerph182211810

Abstract

Social support networks occupy a priority position requiring attention in the processes of social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, during their transition to adult life. The objective of the study was to analyze social support from a relational approach through Personal Network Analysis. A total of 41 young people with mild intellectual disabilities participated in the study, in two groups differentiated according to their educational stage, either compulsory secondary education or post-compulsory training. Descriptive and comparative results are presented based on the variables of structure, composition, and functional content in the social support of their personal networks. The results show that both groups have restricted personal networks, made up of members of the family and the educational environment who constitute the main providers of support. When moving towards adult life, the change in social contacts in other educational, geographical, and relational settings may mean a change in the provision of support received in previous life stages. Developing social and educational actions to support these people in the development and maintenance of social relationships is essential to their access to support resources that will affect their social inclusion.

Highlights

The social and relational environment in which people are immersed has received growing interest in the literature, due to its relationship with the health, well-being, and social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities [1,2]
Due to the relevance of personal support networks in this vital stage, the objective of this study is to describe, analyze, and compare the characteristics of structure, composition, and function in the social support of the personal networks in two groups of young people with mild intellectual disabilities: one group is in the last stage of compulsory secondary education and another is in post-compulsory training programs
This study has focused on analyzing the personal support networks in two groups of young people with intellectual disabilities who are in the process of transition to adult life, one group in the stage of completion of compulsory schooling and the other in a post-school training program

Summary

Introduction

The social and relational environment in which people are immersed has received growing interest in the literature, due to its relationship with the health, well-being, and social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities [1,2]. Studies focusing on the social networks of people with intellectual disabilities of different ages have underlined the importance of improving social networks by promoting the development of new relationships through participation in the community, employment, school, leisure, and expanding ties with people outside the family group, since they can be significant sources of social support [15,16,17,18,19,20].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion