Assessing Family Quality of Life among Families of Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Chongqing, China: A Quantitative Study

Families raising children with intellectual disabilities (ID) face persistent challenges that may adversely affect their overall quality of life (QoL).Family Quality of Life (FQoL) reflects how families function and adapt across key domains including physical and mental health, family relationships, support access, and economic well-being.This study aimed to examine the perceived QoL among parents of children with ID in Chongqing, China, using a quantitative cross-sectional survey.A total of 177 parents participated, and data were collected using the Family Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children with Developmental Disabilities.Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and t-tests were applied to explore group differences.Results showed a moderately high level of overall FQoL (M = 3.65, SD = 0.64), with the highest scores observed in Family Contacts (M = 3.91), Physical & Mental Health (M = 3.81) and Parent-Child Nurturing (M = 3.74), indicating strong intrafamilial cohesion.Conversely, the lowest score was found in the dimension of Other People's Support (M = 3.25), reflecting weak external support networks.Significant differences were found in QoL across disability severity levels (p < .001),with lower scores reported among families of children with more severe disabilities.However, no significant difference was observed between urban and rural families.These findings underscore the importance of addressing disparities in support access while acknowledging family resilience.The study is limited by its cross-sectional design and reliance on selfreported data, but offers practical implications for tailoring family-centered policies and community services that enhance FQoL in diverse caregiving contexts.