Usefulness of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) for persons with other than intellectual disabilities.

In response to the shift from a system-centred care model to a person-centred support model, the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) has been developed as an instrument to assess the support needs of persons with intellectual disabilities. The instrument is used as a tool for constructing individual support plans, as well as a tool for resource allocation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of the SIS for persons with other than intellectual disabilities. Therefore, the psychometric properties of the SIS were investigated in a sample of 1303 persons with other than intellectual disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis failed to support the originally proposed six-factor model within this sample. However, an explorative examination of the underlying structure resulted in a shortened version of the SIS, including four subscales and 22 items. Further analyses revealed satisfying results for reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity of the shortened assessment tool (SIS-NID).

Adolescents conceived by IVF: parenting and psychosocial adjustment.

BACKGROUND: A follow-up study was conducted in mid-adolescence on parenting and the child's psychosocial development after in vitro fertilization (IVF). The first phase of the study had compared 31 IVF families and 31 families with a naturally conceived child when the children were 2 years old (Colpin et al., 1995). Of these, 24 IVF families and 21 control families participated again when the children were 15-16 years old. METHODS: Fathers, mothers and adolescents completed questionnaires assessing parenting style and stress, and adolescent psychosocial adjustment. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in self- or adolescent-reported parenting style, or in parenting stress between IVF mothers and mothers in the control group, nor between IVF fathers and fathers in the control group. Neither did we find significant differences in self- or parent-reported behavioural problems between adolescents conceived by IVF and those conceived naturally. Comparison of behavioural problems between IVF adolescents informed or not informed about the IVF conception did not reveal significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Parenting and 15-16-year-old adolescents' psychosocial adjustment did not differ significantly between IVF families and control families. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first psychosocial follow-up in mid-adolescence, and adds to the evidence that IVF children and their parents are well-adjusted. Large-scale studies in adolescence are needed to support these findings.