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Love and Emotional Well-being in People with Intellectual Disabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Benito Arias ,
Anastasio Ovejero  and
Raquel Morentin
Benito Arias*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Anastasio Ovejero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Raquel Morentin
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Benito Arias, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo de Belén, 1, 47011 Valladolid (SPAIN). E-mail: barias@psi.uva.es
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Abstract

Love has been a recurrent topic throughout history, and especially, literature. Moreover, there is generalized agreement about its relevance for health emotional well-being, and quality of life. This study was carried out with a sample of 376 persons with ID. The goals of the work were to analyze a theoretical model of love in people with intellectual disabilities by means of the methodology of structural equations, and to analyze their perception of love and of amorous relations with regard to other aspects such as amorous satisfaction, perceived satisfaction, absence of family interference, self-determination, and emotional well-being. The results revealed that (a) the construct under study has three factors: Commitment, stability, and idealization, Passion and physiological excitement, and Intimacy and romanticism; (b) the perception of love in this collective is, in general, idealized and affected by the context; and (c) self-determination and the lack of family interference are relevant variables to explain both love and emotional well-being.

El amor ha sido un tema de estudio recurrente a través de la historia y, especialmente, en la literatura. Además, existe un acuerdo generalizado sobre su relevancia para la salud, el bienestar emocional y la calidad de vida. Este estudio se llevó a cabo con una muestra de 376 personas con discapacidad intelectual. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron analizar un modelo teórico del amor en personas con discapacidad intelectual por medio de la metodología de ecuaciones estructurales, y analizar su percepción del amor y de las relaciones amorosas en relación con otros aspectos tales como la satisfacción amorosa, la satisfacción percibida, la ausencia de intromisión familiar, la autodeterminación y el bienestar emocional. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que (a) el constructo estudiado comprende tres factores: Compromiso, estabilidad e idealización, Pasión y excitación fisiológica e Intimidad y romanticismo; (b) la percepción del amor en este colectivo está, en general, idealizado e influenciado por el contexto, y (c) la autodeterminación y la falta de intromisión familiar son variables relevantes para explicar tanto el amor como el bienestar emocional.

Keywords

lovepeople with intellectual disabilitiesemotional well-beingstructural equation modelsamorpersonas con discapacidad intelectualbienestar emocionalmodelos de ecuaciones estructurales
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , May 2009 , pp. 204 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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