EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES ON SUPPORT NEEDS AND UNDERLYING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ADULTS' AND CHILDREN'S VERSIONS OF THE SUPPORTS INTENSITY SCALE

Abstract

This dissertation consists of four chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the evolved concept of disability and an introduction of the support needs construct to special education and related disciplines, as well as a summary of studies that examined the support needs of people with intellectual disability. This Chapter also presents research questions that will be addressed in this dissertation. Chapter 2 presents the relationship between individual variables and support needs, both with and without considering the exceptional support needs (medical and behavioral support needs), and investigates the underlying relationships among support needs that form the structure of the Supports Intensity Scale for Adults. The data analyses, using 13,968 protocols from adolescents or young adults with intellectual disability, suggested that age significantly predicts support needs and males tend to have greater support needs than females in Livelong Learning Activities, Employment Activities, Social Activities, and Protection and Advocacy Activities. The findings indicated that the intensity of each domain of support needs varies depending on levels and types of individuals' exceptional support needs. The data also supports the creation of a second-order support-needs construct, using seven factors from both the Support Need Index Scale and the Supplemental Protection and Advocacy Scale. Chapter 3 examined similarities and differences between the Supports Intensity Scale for Adults and the Supports Intensity Scale for Children. The data analyses, using protocols from 142 adolescent students with intellectual disability or related developmental disabilities who completed both versions of the Supports Intensity Scale, suggested the equivalent counterpart indicators and constructs that carry the same information between the two scales. However, the data for this analysis did not fully support the comparability of scores between the two versions of the Supports Intensity Scale. The findings indicated that five pairs of common counterpart constructs are significantly correlated, evidencing that the two scales have similar underlying mechanisms. The analyses also supported that scores of individuals' IQs and adaptive behaviors negatively predict each support needs area, and the degrees to which these scores predicted the equivalent counterpart constructs are the same. Chapter 4 provides the conclusions of Chapters 2 and 3 and overviews implications for future research and practice pertaining to reducing individuals' support needs and improving the fit between personal capacities and demands of environments.