Examining the Relationships Between Emotional Well-Being, Social Well-being, Self-Esteem, and Home Environment in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/b7xac578Keywords:
emotional well-being, self-esteem, intellectual and developmental disabilities, familyAbstract
Emotional well-being (EWB), self-esteem, social well-being, and home environment are closely interconnected concepts in child development literature, yet these relationships remain understudied among children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The present study examined the extent to which self-esteem, social well-being (friends), and home environment (parents) predicted EWB in a sample of 43 children and adolescents with IDD, ages 5–21. Data were collected at two time points during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of multiple regression analyses revealed that at Time 1 and Time 2, both self-esteem and home environment were significant positive predictors of EWB. More importantly, home environment emerged as the strongest predictor of EWB, controlling for self-esteem, friends, age, and gender at Time 2. These findings underscore the crucial role of family functioning in fostering EWB among individuals with IDD. Contrary to theoretical expectations, friends were not predictive of EWB, suggesting that the social experiences of children with IDD may differ from those of their neurotypical peers. The results highlight the importance of strengthening family bonds to support the emotional well-being of individuals with IDD, also underscoring the need for future research in this area.
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