Quality of Life Perception in Mentally Handicapped Adolescents

There are very few studies of mentally disabled adolescents and their parents in the field of quality of life which reinforces the need for further investigations. The aim of this study is to identify the determinant variables of quality of life perception evidenced not only by adolescents with mental disability, but also their parents/guardians.We designed a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study with a non-probabilistic convenience sample consisting of 40 mentally disabled adolescents, aged between 16 and 23, mostly male (70%), and a sample of 40 parents/guardians, also mostly male (53.8%) with a mean age of 45.98 years. The following are the instruments of measurement used: the Kidscreen-52, parents and children version; the Graffar Index, the Family Apgar Scale, and a section on the socio-demographic characterization.We found that most of the socio-demographic variables and family context are not determinants of the degree of perception of quality of life expressed by the adolescents. Those which showed a significant effect, were: academic qualifications and family functioning. As for the study of the determinants of quality of life of adolescents perceived by their parents/guardians, only the age variable was found to have a significant effect. Moreover, its relationship was inversely proportional to the overall score of the quality of life scale and most of its dimensions.The evidence found invite to reflect on strategies that will enable us, with family and guardians, to get greater understanding to facilitate the training and information intervention programmes, adjusted to the profile of mentally disabled adolescents.