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Relationship between self-report and proxy ratings on assessed personal quality of life-related outcomes
- Authors:
- CLAES Claudia, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 9(3), September 2012, pp.159-165.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Assessing the quality of life (QoL) of a person with intellectual disabilities is often complicated by their limited verbal abilities. Assessment processes often have to rely on informants such as a family member or support worker. This article reports on 2 studies which aimed to evaluate the impact of self-report vs. proxy ratings in the assessment of QoL scores. Study 1 aimed to evaluate the consistency between self-report and direct observation data by support staff. The participants were 161 individuals with mild or moderate levels of intellectual functioning. Study 2 aimed to evaluate the difference between self-report and proxy ratings using direct observation interviews with family and support staff. The participants were 42 individuals with a mild level of intellectual disability. Both studies involved the use of the self-report and the direct observation forms of the Personal Outcomes Scale. Study 1 found significant differences between the 2 respondent groups in 3 QoL domains and an acceptable level of internal consistency for both self-report and direct observation strategies. Study 2 found some differences between client and staff ratings but no significant differences between client and family ratings. The article concludes with noting the need for methodological pluralism in QoL assessment, the importance of self-report by persons with intellectual disability, and the need to develop better strategies to evaluate QoL outcomes for those individuals who cannot respond for themselves.