Abstract

Current and past research has used the term quality of life to encompass a very broad array of meanings, which vary from person to person, both intrapersonally and interpersonally, for individuals with or without disabilities. This study aims primarily at comparing the quality of life of adults using day care services and living in family homes, with that of adults using such services in residential care. In particular, the current investigation focuses on how caregivers promote choice and independence among their patients, paying particular attention on discovering any problems their patients may experience in their daily day care or residential care living. Above all, though, it addresses any differences that might exist between individuals who are living at home—and operating freely within the wider society—with those living within the confines of residential care. The study was carried out in Cyprus at the Center for Adults with Developmental Disabilities. This center supports a day care service and a residential care service. The primary source of data for this study was Cummins’s Personal Wellbeing Index-Intellectual Disability (PWI-ID). Results indicate that individuals using day care services and living in family homes tend to be significantly happier in the areas of life tested than those using the same day care services but living in residential care.