Page 78 - Social networks of people with mild intellectual disabilities: characteristics and interventions

Chapter 4
2013). Moreover, the majority of the participants (73.1%) are satisfied with their social networks and improvement in the area of strengthening existing ties (e.g. more frequent contact, better contact) is desired, as opposed to expansion of the network (van Asselt-Goverts, Embregts, & Hendriks, 2015). However, these data on both structural and functional characteristics are difficult to interpret because normative data are lacking (van Asselt-Goverts et al., 2013). Even though several researchers have used different groups, most of the times the groups consisted only of people with ID (e.g. difference in age, degree of ID or living accommodation). In one study, people with ID were compared to people with physical disability (PD; Lippold & Burns, 2009), finding that people with ID had more restricted social networks than people with PD, despite being involved in more activities. Widmer et al. (2008) compared individuals with ID, individuals with ID and psychiatric disorders and students matched for age and sex, but only with respect to the family network. Compared with the control group, people with ID less often consider themselves or their family members as sources of emotional support (Widmer et al., 2008).
From this we can conclude that data on the social networks of high- functioning adults with ASD are lacking. Moreover, data on the social networks of people with ID are hard to compare because of differences in methods of data collection (i.e. with respect to measures used and choice of participants) and the lack of normative data. We therefore hypothesized that the networks of people with ASD (Friedman et al., 2013; Seltzer et al., 2004) and the networks of people with mild ID (e.g. Lippold & Burns, 2009; Robertson et al., 2001; Verdonschot et al., 2009) are smaller than those of other people living in the community. However, the number of network members is not a decisive factor in well-being (Lippold & Burns, 2009). In consequence, as well as the usual quantitative approach, focussing on the size of the network, we also used a more qualitative approach, including crucial structural and functional network characteristics ranging from the frequency of social contacts to practical and emotional support (Baars, 1994; van Asselt-Goverts et al., 2013). Moreover, how people themselves perceive their networks is essential (van Asselt-Goverts et al., 2015). Because people with ASD and ID experience difficulties in developing and maintaining social contacts, we focus in this study on their description and their opinions of their networks. Therefore the objective of this study was to determine the specific network characteristics of people with ID and ASD and their specific opinions regarding their networks. Specific research questions were:
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