Page 54 - Social networks of people with mild intellectual disabilities: characteristics and interventions

Chapter 3
and professionals about once a week; and colleagues and neighbours three to four times a week. Moreover they had frequent telephone contact with parents (three times a week) and friends (two times a week). With respect to functional characteristics, research indicates that social support is perceived as mainly coming from professionals (Forrester-Jones et al., 2006). People with ID look just as much to professionals for affection as to family and acquaintances but, for practical/informational support, professionals are valued even higher than family and acquaintances (van Asselt-Goverts et al., 2013). Little attention, however, has been paid to the satisfaction of people with ID with either the structural or functional characteristics of their social networks or their wishes with regard to such (e.g. Forrester-Jones et al., 2006; Lippold & Burns, 2009; Robertson et al., 2001; van Asselt-Goverts et al., 2013).
With respect to the relations between the characteristics of the social networks of people with ID, on the one hand, and their satisfaction with their network and perceived QOL, on the other hand, some studies have documented associations between network size and satisfaction with the social network, QOL, SWB or feelings of loneliness (Campo, Sharpton, Thompson, & Sexton, 1997; Duvdevany & Arar, 2004; Gregory, Robertson, Kessissoglou, Emerson, & Hatton, 2001; Stenfert Kroese, Hussein, Clifford, & Ahmed, 2002). Moreover better SWB or QOL was found to be associated with more frequent contact with friends (Cram & Nieboer, 2012; Emerson & Hatton, 2008), but not with family (Emerson & Hatton, 2008). Also an association of life satisfaction/subjective QOL with perceived social support has been found (Bramston, Chipuer, & Pretty, 2005; Lunsky & Benson, 2001; Miller & Chan, 2008). However, in some of the referred studies, social network components have been measured using just one question or a few questions (e.g. Cram & Nieboer, 2012; Emerson & Hatton, 2008).
Overall, to the best of our knowledge no attention has been paid in research on the social networks of people with ID to their specific needs or wishes with respect to such. Therefore the first aim of this study was to investigate the degree of satisfaction and any wishes on the part of people with mild ID for their social networks. The structural and functional characteristics of the social networks of people with ID have been shown to be related to their satisfaction with the social network and perceived QOL in the following manner. There is some evidence of an association of network size, frequency of contact and perceived support with SWB, satisfaction with the social network or QOL. However,
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