Assessing the satisfaction of adults with mental retardation living in the community
Harner, Cathy J.
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20517
Description
Title
Assessing the satisfaction of adults with mental retardation living in the community
Author(s)
Harner, Cathy J.
Issue Date
1991
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Weinberg, Nancy
Department of Study
Social Work
Discipline
Social Work
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Tests and Measurements
Social Work
Education, Special
Language
eng
Abstract
Quality of life has become an important issue in the provision of services to individuals with mental retardation, but few procedures are available to evaluate it. The Multifaceted Lifestyle Satisfaction Scale (MLSS) was designed to ask individuals with mental retardation about their personal satisfaction with several areas of their lives. The primary purpose of the present research was to assess the psychometric properties of this scale and provide the service delivery system a reliable and valid tool with which it could assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of life for individuals with mental retardation. Reliability was indexed through test-retest reliabilities, inter-rater agreement, and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). Reliability data indicated that several subscales--community, friendships, recreation, and job--were sufficiently internally consistent (alpha =.519 to.910) to be considered unidimensional indices. Subscale test-retest correlations (r =.648 to.893) and inter-rater reliabilities (r =.912 to.947) were considered sufficient, especially for group assessment.
Validity data were more complex. Concurrent validity was evaluated through correlations of the Personal Caretaker Questionnaire and the 1990 Quality of Life Questionnaire with the MLSS. Correlations between the Personal Caretaker Questionnaire and the MLSS for corresponding areas of satisfaction ranged from.213 to.468, all being statistically different from zero, p $<$.05. The expectation that quality of life subscales as measured by the MLSS would correlate with corresponding quality of life subscales as measured by the 1990 Quality of Life Questionnaire was not supported (r = $-$.209 to.245). Construct validity was evaluated through regression analyses that assessed the prediction of each of the MLSS subscales and its total score by age, sex, intellectual functioning level, and especially residential level of restrictiveness and provided some support for the construct validity of the MLSS. The prediction of the MLSS subscales by age was statistically significant, p $<$.01, for only recreation, client self-determination, and the total, their prediction by intellectual functioning classifications was significant, p $<$.01, only for recreation and the total, and their prediction by residential level was significant, p $<$.01, for community friendships, recreation, job, and the total.
The present research indicates that the MLSS is a reliable and valid scale to measure personal satisfaction through the responses of the consumers of services in areas of community, friendships, recreation, and job.
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