Relationships and power: an exploration of the systemic factors that impact upon the lives of adults with intellectual disabilities in residential services

This research aims to explore the experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) who live in residential services, and staff, of the social processes that impact upon person-centeredness, and discover what their subjective experiences can tell us about the relational and cultural dynamics that exist in disability services in the Republic of Ireland, and their impact upon the quality of life of adults with ID who live in residential services. The study was undertaken to address the lack of research currently available on understanding the social processes that exist in disability services, from the perspective of adults with ID and staff, to explore the importance of taking a relational perspective into account in policy development and service practices, and to consider the influence of psychologists working relationally in disability services to promote person centred cultures that safeguard against abuse.
Semi-structured interviews of six adults with ID who live in residential services and six staff employed by the same disability service were conducted to collect the data and a phenomenological study using thematic analysis was applied to analyse the findings. This study revealed there are complex social and cultural processes that exist in disability services, which undermine the development of person centred cultures that are vital to underpin changes in power and power relationships between adults with ID, support staff and the disability service in the safeguarding against abuse in disability services.
The implications of this study are discussed in terms of their applicability to psychological, social care and health practices and in the development of policies that guide models of care for adults with ID who live in residential services. This research is a call to recognise that it is not enough to have a system of quality of care guided by the principles of person centeredness alone to ensure the best possible quality of life for adults with ID. Rather, consideration of the cultural and contextual factors that impact upon the relationships held by adults with ID needs to be built into the values and practices of services offered to adults with ID in the Republic of Ireland and beyond.