Čimbenici kvalitete življenja osoba s intelektualnim teškoćam
Dimensions of quality of life in people with intelectual disabilities

Summary/Abstract: Beginning with the general definitions of the term and factors of quality of life, the paper presents a review of contemporary views on the dimensions and indicators of quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. The review of the basic dimensions of quality of life in the context of different theoretical approaches stresses the importance of the multidimensional and interactional approaches in this field of research. A critical overview of the current research on the characteristics of quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities notes the discrepancy between the holistic and ecological theoretical grounds and the limited inclusion of different factors in most research which mainly focuses on the assessment of limited scope of mostly objective indicators. The neglect of this field of research in Croatia is noted as well as the need to furthermore develop currently not sufficiently implemented methods for the assessment of the subjective perception of quality of life, especially qualitative methods. Finally, the paper stresses the significance of applied research meaning the application of the concept of quality of life as the foundation for the development of contemporary models and community-based supports aimed at improving the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities.

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