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The Benefits of Supporting the Autonomy of Individuals with Mild Intellectual Disabilities: An Experimental Study
Author(s) -
Emond Pelletier Julie,
Joussemet Mireille
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12274
Subject(s) - autonomy , intellectual disability , psychology , personal autonomy , anxiety , learning disability , developmental psychology , population , social psychology , clinical psychology , gerontology , medicine , psychiatry , environmental health , political science , law
Background The benefits of autonomy support with the general population have been demonstrated numerous times. However, little research has been conducted to verify if these benefits apply to people with special needs. Methods The goal of the study was to examine whether autonomy support (AS) can foster the sense of autonomy of people with a mild intellectual disabilities (MIDs) and improve their experience while engaging in an important but unpleasant learning activity. This experiment compares the effects of two contexts: with and without AS. All participants ( N = 51) had a mild intellectual disability and were recruited from rehabilitation centres. Results Compared to participants in the control group, participants in the AS group tended to experience greater autonomy satisfaction and tended to perceive more value to the activity. They were also significantly more engaged in it, and they experienced a steeper decrease in anxiety over time. Conclusions This study suggests that the benefits of AS extend to individuals with mild intellectual disability.