Association between employment status and quality of life for individuals with intellectual or developmental disability

Abstract

The current study examined how employment conditions (competitive employment, work center employment, unemployment) are associated with the quality of life (QoL) for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Using the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale – Intellectual/Cognitive Disability (5th Edition; ComQoL-I5; Cummins, 1997a) to measure objective QoL factors, and the PWI-ID (Personal Wellbeing Index – Intellectual Disability, 3rd Edition; Cummins & Lau, 2005b) to measure subjective well-being, participants answered self-reporting questions regarding the seven QoL domains. Kruskal–Wallis H for Oneway Analysis of Variance was used to determine statistical significance between comparison work conditions. Results indicate significant findings in the objective QoL domains of Material Well-Being, Productivity, and Safety between the work conditions for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with participants in the competitive-employment group reporting the highest QoL objective scores in these areas. Implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed.