| المستخلص: |
Few studies have evaluated the quality of life for families of disabled children and none has been done in Arab countries. This study aimed at exploring the quality of life for parents of disabled children. A total number of families having children with disabilities (n=306) were participated in the study who divided into four groups; parents having a child with mental retardation (n=86), parents having a child with learning disability (n=90), parents having a child with physical disability (n= 72), and parents having a child with autism (n=58). The Arabic version of World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) measurement was used to collect data around the research questions. The results revealed that the (Environment) domain had the highest score (M=71.49 SD=14.21), whereas the (Spiritual) domain had the lowest score (M=11.66 SD=4.72). Facets scores results indicated that the 25th facet (Overall quality of life and general health – Overall) had the highest score (M=11.96 SD=4.56), meanwhile the 14th facet (Social support) had the lowest score (M=7.39 SD=2). A multiple regression analysis was employed to identify the domains and facets which made a significant contribution to explain the observed variance in the "Total" facet score. The "independence" domain contributed most highly (β= .336, P= 0.00), followed by the "psychological" domain (β= .237, P= 0.00), whereas the "spiritual" domain (β= .094, P= 0.01) had the least contribution in the total facet score. the results of the study postulated that there were significant differences in the QOL of parents having a child with disability depending on the type of disability variable, favoring parents having a child with learning disability who had the highest QOL scores (most positive), followed by parents having a child with physical disability, then parents having a child with mental retardation, and finally, parents having a child with Autism who had the lowest degree of QOL (most negative). However, further research is recommended to explore other aspects of life quality for families with disables children.
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