title: Subjective quality of life of women with intellectual disabilities: the role of perceived control over their own life in self-determined behaviour.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities has been reported in the research literature across differing demographics. There has been, however, little research that has examined in-depth the experiences of women with intellectual disabilities aged 40 years or older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five women from Sydney, Australia, and Prague, Czech Republic, were recruited to the study. Participants were recruited through agencies known to the researchers, ensuring ethical conduct of all procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Each participant completed a semi-structured interview, and using a grounded theory approach, a series of themes were identified common across all women. The strongest theme identified throughout the interviews was the lack of control participants perceived they had over their lives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study further the call for people with intellectual disabilities to be provided the opportunity to participate in decisions about their life choices.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Strnadová
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D018153:Czech Republic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life