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Social support, physical activity and stress as determinants of well-being in adults with intellectual disability

Scott, Haleigh Morgan

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
People with intellectual disability (ID) are likely to experience mental health concerns and poor physical health. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding what factors, specifically psychosocial factors, influence physical and mental health in this population. In people without disabilities, three factors have consistently been tied to mental and physical well-being, stress, social support, and physical activity. Though there is a plethora of research into how these three factors impact health in people without disabilities, research in people with ID is lacking. The present study used a combination of established and novel self-report scales to collect data on the well-being, conceptualized as both physical and mental health, of 150 adults with ID. Measures of social support, physical activity and stress were also obtained. For a sub sample of participants (n=90), proxy report was obtained on identical factors. The primary goal of the study was to use structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a theoretical model of health informed solely by self-report. Secondary aims were to expand the research base on self-report in people with ID by examining use of several scales in this population and to compare self and proxy report. People with ID were found to be capable of reporting on various aspects of life such as health, mental health symptoms, social support, stress, and physical activity. The majority of the scales used had acceptable psychometric properties, though some scales were found to need additional research in this population. Specifically, it was found that the scale used as a measure of mental health may perform differently in this population than in people without disabilities and that the measure of social support used may need an alternate scoring method. Agreement between raters on various scales ranged from poor to substantial with significant variation between and with-in scales. These results indicate that efforts should be made to obtain self-report whenever possible and proxy reports should be used with caution. The theoretical model testing the impact of social support, physical activity, and stress on physical and mental health was determined to have acceptable to good fit. The model indicated that higher stress was associated with poorer mental and physical health while higher reports of friendships were also associated with poorer mental health. The model showed that important variables related to well-being can be modeled using self-report in this population and provide valuable information regarding the impact of stress on the health of people with ID.
Susan Havercamp, PhD (Advisor)
Rebecca Andridge, PhD (Committee Member)
Betsey Benson, PhD (Committee Member)
Marc Tasse, PhD (Committee Member)
106 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Scott, H. M. (2016). Social support, physical activity and stress as determinants of well-being in adults with intellectual disability [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1469014366

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Scott, Haleigh. Social support, physical activity and stress as determinants of well-being in adults with intellectual disability. 2016. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1469014366.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Scott, Haleigh. "Social support, physical activity and stress as determinants of well-being in adults with intellectual disability." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1469014366

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)