Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T00:33:29.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Love and Emotional Well-being in People with Intellectual Disabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Benito Arias*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Anastasio Ovejero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Raquel Morentin
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Benito Arias, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo de Belén, 1, 47011 Valladolid (SPAIN). E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Love has been a recurrent topic throughout history, and especially, literature. Moreover, there is generalized agreement about its relevance for health emotional well-being, and quality of life. This study was carried out with a sample of 376 persons with ID. The goals of the work were to analyze a theoretical model of love in people with intellectual disabilities by means of the methodology of structural equations, and to analyze their perception of love and of amorous relations with regard to other aspects such as amorous satisfaction, perceived satisfaction, absence of family interference, self-determination, and emotional well-being. The results revealed that (a) the construct under study has three factors: Commitment, stability, and idealization, Passion and physiological excitement, and Intimacy and romanticism; (b) the perception of love in this collective is, in general, idealized and affected by the context; and (c) self-determination and the lack of family interference are relevant variables to explain both love and emotional well-being.

El amor ha sido un tema de estudio recurrente a través de la historia y, especialmente, en la literatura. Además, existe un acuerdo generalizado sobre su relevancia para la salud, el bienestar emocional y la calidad de vida. Este estudio se llevó a cabo con una muestra de 376 personas con discapacidad intelectual. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron analizar un modelo teórico del amor en personas con discapacidad intelectual por medio de la metodología de ecuaciones estructurales, y analizar su percepción del amor y de las relaciones amorosas en relación con otros aspectos tales como la satisfacción amorosa, la satisfacción percibida, la ausencia de intromisión familiar, la autodeterminación y el bienestar emocional. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que (a) el constructo estudiado comprende tres factores: Compromiso, estabilidad e idealización, Pasión y excitación fisiológica e Intimidad y romanticismo; (b) la percepción del amor en este colectivo está, en general, idealizado e influenciado por el contexto, y (c) la autodeterminación y la falta de intromisión familiar son variables relevantes para explicar tanto el amor como el bienestar emocional.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alberoni, F. (1990). Enamoramiento y amor. Barcelona: Gedisa.Google Scholar
Alcedo, M. A., Aguado, A. L., & Arias, B. (2006). Eficacia de un programa de educación sexual en jóvenes con discapacidad intelectual. Análisis y Modificación de Conducta, 32, 217239.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed. text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Amor, J. (1997). Afectividad y sexualidad en la persona con deficiencia mental. Madrid: Universidad Pontificia de Comillas.Google Scholar
Arbuckle, J. L. (2000). Exploratory structural equation modeling. New York: Fordham University. Department of Psychology colloquium series.Google Scholar
Arias, B., Morentin, R., Verdugo, M. A., & Rodríguez, J. M. (2006). Amor y enamoramiento en personas con discapacidad intelectual: un campo por explorar. Siglo Cero, 37, 5980.Google Scholar
Averill, J. R. (1985). The social construction of emotion: With special reference to love. In Gergen, K. J. y Davis, K. E. (Eds.), The social construction of the person (pp. 89109). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Bangdiwala, K. (1987). Using SAS software graphical procedures for the observer agreement chart. Proceedings of the SAS Users Group International Conference, 12, 10831088.Google Scholar
Barrón, A., Martínez-Íñigo, D., De Paul, P., & Yela, C. (1999). Romantic beliefs and myths in Spain. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 2, 6473.Google Scholar
Bauman, Z. (2005). Amor líquido: acerca de la fragilidad de los vínculos humanos. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.Google Scholar
Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1978). Interpersonal attraction (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Blomm, M. (1967). Toward a developmental concept of love. Journal of Human Relations, 15, 246263.Google Scholar
Campo, M. I. (2003). Aspectos de las relaciones afectivas y sexuales en personas con discapacidad intelectual. Informació Psicológica, 83, 1519.Google Scholar
Carreño, M. (1991). Aspectos psico-sociales de las relaciones amorosas. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela.Google Scholar
Chiappo, L. (2002). Psicología del amor. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.Google Scholar
Crespo, E. (1986): A regional variation: Emotion in Spain. In Harré, R. (Ed.), The social construction of emotions. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Cribbie, R. A. (2007). Multiplicity control in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 98112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Critelli, J.W., Myers, E.J., & Loos, V.E. (1986). The components of love: Romantic attraction and sex role orientation. Journal of Personality, 54, 354370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, R. A. (1995). On the trail of the gold-standard for subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 35, 179200.Google Scholar
Cummins, R. A. (1997). Assessing quality of life for people with disabilities. In Quality of life for people with disabilities: Models, research and practice (2nd ed., pp. 116150). Cheltenham, England: Stanley Thornes.Google Scholar
Cummins, R. A. (2003). Normative life satisfaction: Measurement issues and a homeostatic model. Social Indicators Research, 64, 225256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, R. A. (2005). Caregivers as managers of subjective well-being: A homeostatic perspective. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18 (4), 335344.Google Scholar
Cummins, R. A., & Nistico, H. (2002). Maintaining life satisfaction: The role of positive cognitive bias. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 3769.Google Scholar
DuToit, M., & DuToit, S. (2001). Interactive LISREL: User's guide. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Felce, D. (2006). La calidad de vida en servicios de vida comunitaria: cuestiones sobre la medición subjetiva y objetiva. In Verdugo, M. A. & Urríes, F. B. Jordán de (Coords.), Rompiendo inercias. Claves para avanzar. VI Scientific Meeting of Research on People with Disability (pp. 7388). Salamanca (Spain): Amarú.Google Scholar
Felce, D., & Perry, J. (1996). Assessment of quality of life. In Schalock, R. L. (Ed.), Quality of life: Vol I. Conceptualization and measurement (pp. 6372). Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.Google Scholar
Fernández, J., Quiroga, M.A., & Del Olmo, I. (2006). Is sexual attraction independent of the instrumental and expressive traits? Spanish Journal of Psychology, 9, 162170.Google Scholar
Fierro, A. (2000). El sexo de los ángeles. In Amor, J.R. (Ed.), Sexualidad y personas con discapacidad psíquica. II Conferencia Nacional (pp. 5164). Madrid: FEAPS.Google Scholar
Finlay, W. M., & Lyons, E. (2001). Methodological issues in interviewing and using sef-report questionnaires with people with mental retardation. Psychological Assessment, 13, 319335.Google Scholar
Finlay, W. M., & Lyons, E. (2002). Acquiescence in interviews with people with mental retardation. Mental Retardation, 40, 1429.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fisher, H. (1992). The anatomy of love. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Fisher, H. (2006). The drive to love: The neural mechanism for mate selection. In Sternberg, R. J. & Weis, K. E. (Eds.), The new psychology of love (pp. 87115). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Galea, J., Butler, J., Iacono, T., & Leighton, D. (2004). The assessment of sexual knowledge in people with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 29, 350365.Google Scholar
García, J. L. (2005). Sexualidad, afectividad y síndrome de Down: (I) Se hace camino al andar. Revista Down (FEISD), 28, 2227.Google Scholar
Gordon, P. A., Tschopp, M. K., & Feldman, D. (2004). Addressing issues of sexuality with adolescents with disabilities. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 21, 513527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gust, D. A., Wang, S. A., Grot, J., Ransom, R., & Levine, W. C. (2003). National survey of sexual behavior and sexual behavior policies in facilities for individuals with mental retardation / developmental disabilities. Mental Retardation, 41, 365373.Google Scholar
Hancock, G. R. (1999). A sequential Scheffé-type respecification procedure for controlling Type I error in exploratory structural equation model modification. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 158168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harré, R. (1986): The social construction of emotions. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Harré, R., & Parrott, W.G. (Eds.). (1996): The emotions: Social, cultural, and biological dimensions. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Hartley, S. L., & MacLean, W. E. (2006). A review of the reliability and validity of Likert-type scales for people with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50, 813827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hendrick, C., & Hendrick, S. S. (1986). A theory and method of love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 392402.Google Scholar
Hendrick, C., & Hendrick, S. S. (1989). Research on love: Does it measure up? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 784794.Google Scholar
Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Dicke, A. (1998). The Love Attitudes Scale: Short form. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 147159.Google Scholar
Hensel, E., Rose, J., Stenfert-Kroese, B., & Banks-Smith, J. (2002). Subjective judgements of quality of life: A comparison study between people with intellectual disability and those without disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 46, 95107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howland, C. A., & Rintala, D. H. (2001). Dating behaviors of women with physical disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 19, 4170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G. (1993). Testing structural equation models. In Bollen, K.A. & Lang, J.S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 294316). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996a). LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996b). LISREL 8: Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996c). PRELIS 2: User's reference guide. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Kedde, H., & Van Berlo, W. (2006). Sexual satisfaction and sexual self-images of people with physical disabilities in the Netherlands. Sexuality and Disability, 24, 5368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, U. (2004). Theories of love: Sorokin, Teilhard and Tillich. Zygon, 39, 77102.Google Scholar
Knox, M., & Hickson, F. (2001). The meanings of close friendship: The views of four people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 14, 276291.Google Scholar
Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA1: Sage.Google Scholar
Lampert, A. (1997). The evolution of love. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.Google Scholar
LeDoux, J.E. (1995). Emotion: Clues from the brain. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 209235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lesseliers, J., & Van Hove, G. (2002). Barriers to the development of intimate relationships and the expression of sexuality among people with developmental disabilities: Their perceptions. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 27, 6981.Google Scholar
Loehlin, J. C. (2004). Latent variable models: An introduction to factor, path, and structural equation analysis. (4th ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Löfgren-Martenson, L. (2004). May I? About sexuality and love in the new generation with intellectual disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 22, 197207.Google Scholar
López, F. (2002). Sexo y afecto en personas con discapacidad. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.Google Scholar
López, F. (2006). La educación sexual de personas con discapacidad. Siglo Cero, 37, 522.Google Scholar
Mardia, K. V. (1974). Applications of some measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis in testing normality and robustness studies. Sankhya B, 36, 115118.Google Scholar
McCabe, M. P. (1999). Sexual knowledge, experience and feelings among people with disability. Sexuality and Disability, 17, 157170.Google Scholar
McCabe, M. P., Cummins, R. A., & Deeks, A. A. (2000). Sexuality and quality of life among people with physical disability. Sexuality and Disability, 18, 115123.Google Scholar
McCabe, M. P., Taleporos, G., & Dip, G. (2003). Sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction and sexual behavior among people with physical disability. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32 (4), 359369.Google Scholar
Montero, D. (1999). Evaluación de la conducta adaptativa en personas con discapacidades. Adaptación y validación del ICAP (3rd ed.). Bilbao: Ediciones Mensajero.Google Scholar
Morentin, R. (2005). Valoración y propuesta de mejora de un programa de ‘Habilidades sociales, Afectividad y Sexualidad’ para personas con discapacidad intelectual. Unpublished Master's Project. Salamanca (Spain): Universidad de Salamanca - INICO.Google Scholar
Morentin, R., Arias, B., Rodríguez Mayoral, J. M., & Aguado, A. L. (2006). Pautas para el desarrollo de programas eficaces de educación afectivo-sexual en personas con discapacidad intelectual. Siglo Cero, 37, 4158.Google Scholar
Ovejero, A. (1998). Las relaciones humanas. Psicología social teórica y aplicada. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.Google Scholar
Ovejero, A. (2000a): Emotions: Reflections from a socioconstructionist perspective. Psicothema, 12 (Suppl.), 1624.Google Scholar
Ovejero, A. (2000b): Aproximación socioconstruccionista al estudio de las emociones. In Caballero, D., Méndez, M.T., & Pastor, J. (Eds.), La mirada psicosociológica (pp. 580584). Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.Google Scholar
Rodríguez Mayoral, J. M., López, F., Morentin, R., & Arias, B. (2006). Afectividad y sexualidad en personas con discapacidad intelectual. Una propuesta de trabajo. Siglo Cero, 37, 2340.Google Scholar
Rubin, Z. (1970). Measurement of romantic love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 265273.Google Scholar
Sangrador, J. L. (1993). Consideraciones psicosociales sobre el amor romántico. Psicothema, 5. (Suppl.), 181196.Google Scholar
Schalock, R. L., & Verdugo, M. A. (2002). Handbook on quality of life for human service practitioners. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation (Spanish translation: Calidad de Vida. Manual para profesionales de la educación, salud y servicios sociales. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2003).Google Scholar
Scientific Software International (2006a). LISREL, v. 8.8 [Computer program]. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Scientific Software International (2006b). PRELIS, v. 2.3 [Computer program]. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Servais, L., Jacques, D., Leach, R., Conod, L., Hoyois, P., Dan, B., & Roussaux, J. P. (2002). Contraception of women with intellectual disabilities: Prevalence and determinants. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 46, 108119.Google Scholar
SPSS (2006). SPSS, v. 14.0 [Computer program]. Chicago, IL: SPSS.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The triangle of love: intimacy, passion and commitment. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Construct validation of a triangular love scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 313335.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1998). Love is a story. New York. Oxford University Press. (Spanish translation: La experiencia del amor. Barcelona: Paidós Ibérica, 2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Barnes, M. L. (Eds.) (1988). The psychology of love. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Grajek, S. (1984). The nature of love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 312329.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Weis, K. (Eds.) (2006). The new psychology of love. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Szollos, A. A., & McCabe, M. P. (1995). The sexuality of people with mild intellectual disability: Perceptions of clients and caregivers. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 20, 205222.Google Scholar
Taleporos, G., & McCabe, M. P. (2002). The impact of sexual esteem, body esteem, and sexual satisfaction on psychological well-being in people with physical disability. Sexuality and Disability, 20, 177183.Google Scholar
The SAS Institute (2006). SAS, v. 9.3 [Computer program]. Cary, NC: The SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Verdugo, M.A., Gómez, L. E., Arias, B., & Schalock, R. L. (2009). Escala INTEGRAL: Evaluación Objetiva y Subjetiva de la Calidad de Vida de Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual. Madrid: CEPE.Google Scholar
Wiseman, J.P. (Ed.). (1976). The social psychology of sex. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Yela, C. (1995): Análisis psicosociológico del comportamiento amoroso. Madrid: Doctoral dissertation [CD-ROM]. Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.Google Scholar
Yela, C. (1996). Componentes básicos del amor: algunas matizaciones al modelo de Sternberg. Revista de Psicología Social, 11, 185201.Google Scholar
Yela, C. (2002). El amor desde la psicología social: ni tan libres ni tan racionales. Madrid: Pirámide.Google Scholar
Yela, C. (2006). The evaluation of love: Simplified version of the scales for Yela's tetrangular model based on Sternberg's model. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22, 2127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar