In the same boat? An online group career counseling with a group of young adults in the time of COVID-19.

An online group of career counseling for unemployed young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic was developed. Twelve participants were involved in online group career counseling intervention, based on the Life Design for an inclusive and sustainable future. Results indicated at post-test on increased scores on career adaptability, resilience, future orientation, and propensity to identify inclusive and sustainable actions for the future than pre-test. Overall, the online group career counseling intervention effectively promoted particular aspects of young adults' life design for an inclusive e-sustainable future.

Dans le Même Bateau : Un Groupe de Conseil en Orientation Professionnelle En Ligne avec un Groupe de Jeunes Adultes à l'Époque du COVID-19 Un groupe de conseil en orientation professionnelle en ligne pour les jeunes adultes sans emploi pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 a été développé. Douze participant·e·s ont été impliqués dans une intervention de conseil en en orientation de groupe en ligne, basée sur le Life Design pour un avenir inclusif et durable. Les résultats indiquent que les scores sur l'adaptabilité de la carrière, la résilience, l'orientation future et la propension à identifier des actions inclusives et durables pour l'avenir ont augmenté au post-test par rapport au pré-test. Dans l'ensemble, l'intervention de conseil en orientation professionnelle de groupe en ligne a efficacement promu des aspects particuliers du Life Design chez jeunes adultes pour un avenir inclusif et durable.

En el mismo barco: un asesoramiento profesional grupal online con un grupo de adultos jóvenes en tiempos del COVID-19 Se desarrolló un grupo online de asesoramiento profesional para adultos jóvenes desempleados durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Doce participantes fueron involurados en una experiencia de asesoramiento profesional grupal online basada en el Life Design para un futuro inclusivo y sostenible. Los resultados del post-test de la experiencia indicaron un aumento significativo de las puntuaciones en adaptabilidad profesional, resiliencia, orientación futura y propensión a identificar acciones inclusivas y sostenibles para el futuro de las obtenidas antes de la aplicación de la prueba. En general, la intervención de asesoramiento profesional grupal online promovió efectivamente aspectos particulares del proyecto de vida de los adultos jóvenes para un futuro inclusivo y sostenible.

Self-determination and future goals in a sample of adults with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, increased attention has been directed towards the importance of identifying the future goals of people with intellectual disability (ID) and promoting their abilities to design their future. Consistent with these, the first aim of this study is to investigate the future goals of people with ID in terms of content and temporal distance. Moreover, the second aim of this study is to test the predictive role of self-determination on the number of future goals reported by people with ID. METHODS: In this study, 96 young adults with ID were involved and a mixed method design was chosen. Specifically, qualitative procedures (consensual qualitative analyses) and quantitative procedures (structural equation modelling) were carried out. RESULTS: The results showed that the future goals of people with ID are characterised by different factors related to autonomy, health/well-being, interpersonal relations and personal growth. Moreover, self-determination (assessed with Self-Determination Questionnaire-Version for Adults) predicts a higher number of future goals reported by people with ID. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest the importance of providing adequate support to the development of self-determination.

Ideas and thoughts of Italian teachers on the professional future of persons with disability.

BACKGROUND: The literature places special focus on the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with disability and on their self-determination and social and work participation. The field of vocational guidance also considers the satisfaction these individuals experience concerning their future crucial to their QoL. At the same time, however, persons with disability are at great risk of not making highly advantageous choices for their future. Hence, teachers and career counsellors can play an important role in vocational guidance for persons with disability. METHODS: The present study was aimed at investigating the ideas of a group of teachers asked to describe in writing the future of hypothetical students with disability. Their descriptions were first analysed to verify whether any reference was made to the construct of QoL and whether a significant role was attributed to aspects of work inclusion and work satisfaction. Response category differences were then compared for curricular teachers vs. specialised teachers, elementary school teachers vs. middle school teachers, and low self-efficacy vs. high self-efficacy teachers. RESULTS: Teachers describing the future of a hypothetical student with Down's syndrome mentioned some aspects of QoL and emphasised certain features over others. Several category type differences teachers emerged, although not always in line with expectations. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers' ideas on the future of individuals with intellectual disability are characterised by a certain bias towards the restrictions that impairment can imply. In consideration of our findings, the need for training actions is highlighted.

Self-determination, social abilities and the quality of life of people with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: The international literature has documented that self-determination is impacted by environmental factors, including living or work settings; and by intraindividual factors, including intelligence level, age, gender, social skills and adaptive behaviour. In addition, self-determination has been correlated with improved quality of life (QoL). This study sought to contribute to the growing literature base in this area by examining the relationship among and between personal characteristics, self-determination, social abilities and the environmental living situations of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). METHODS: The study involved 141 people with ID residing in Italy. Healthcare professionals and social workers who had known participants for at least 1 year completed measures of self-determination, QoL and social skills. Analysis of variance was conducted to verify whether different levels of intellectual impairment were associated with different degrees of the dependent variables. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used to examine any relationships among dependent variables and IQ scores. Finally, discriminant function analysis was used to examine the degree to which IQ score, age, self-determination and social abilities predicted membership in groups that were formed based on living arrangement, and on QoL status (high vs. low). RESULTS: The anova determined, as expected, that participants with more severe ID showed the lowest levels of self-determination, QoL and social abilities. Discriminant function analysis showed that (a) individuals attending day centres were distinguished from those living in institutions in that they were younger and showed greater autonomy of choice and self-determination in their daily activities; (b) basic social skills and IQ score predicted membership in the high or low QoL groups; and (c) the IQ score predicted membership in the high or low self-determination groups. A manova conducted to examine gender- and age-level differences on self-determination found gender differences; women had higher self-determination scores than men. CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute to an emerging knowledge base pertaining to the role of intraindividual and environmental factors in self-determination and QoL. In general, the study replicated findings pertaining to the relative contribution of intelligence to self-determination and QoL, added information about the potential contribution of social abilities, and pointed to the potentially important role of opportunities to make choices as a particularly important aspect of becoming more self-determined, at least in the context of residential settings.

Quality of life in adults with an intellectual disability: the Evaluation of Quality of Life Instrument.

BACKGROUND: The construct of quality of life (QoL) has been the focus of a great deal of recent research and has been operationalized in the assessment of the effectiveness of biomedical and rehabilitative interventions. Consequently, the effective measurement of QoL has become a relevant issue. QoL assessment should take account of both objective life conditions and reported satisfaction with those conditions, and should recognize that QoL has multiple domains. There is also evidence to suggest that it is useful to supplement such assessments with the evaluations of significant others within a multidimensional assessment perspective. METHODS: The current study describes a further stage of testing and refinement of the Evaluation of Quality of Life Instrument (EQLI), which was designed to elicit from staff of health and social care services assessments of the level of satisfaction experienced by adults with an intellectual disability. Specifically, the EQLI's internal consistency, and construct, convergent and discriminant validity were analysed. RESULTS: The EQLI appears to be a psychometrically valid measure for collecting data on the levels of satisfaction which, according to health and social services staff, might be experienced by individuals with an intellectual disability who attend residential institutions and community-based day centres. The factor analyses supported a three-factor structure for the EQLI and reliability estimates of scores on the three factors were in the moderate to high range. The data collected supported convergent and discriminant validity. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the EQLI is an effective measure for gaining staff perceptions of individuals who may be at risk of dissatisfaction with various QoL domains. The EQLI is as an instrument which, within a multidimensional assessment, could contribute to the identification of areas of user dissatisfaction with services.