Outlook of Young Adults with Mild Intellectual Disabilities on Family Relationships during Adolescence in Poland

Coming of age can be challenging for people with mild intellectual disabilities, who remain more dependent on their families than their typically developing peers. The purpose of this study was to determine how young adults with mild intellectual disabilities experience the transition into adulthood within family settings. The research was conducted in Poland. Fifteen young adults with mild intellectual disabilities participated in semi-structured interviews. Since this study relied on grounded theory, which prescribes that initial analytical results be validated against and modulated by the information acquired in due course (Glaser et al., 1968), data collection and analysis were performed mostly in parallel rather than in a linear sequence. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns of meaning in the data (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2020). The starting point for this study is the fact that individuals with disabilities heavily depend on their families for support and comprehensive assistance even as they undergo adolescence, which is a period specifically associated with a struggle for autonomy. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how young people with intellectual disabilities transition into adulthood. This paper charts the influence parents have on the self-determination of young people with intellectual disabilities upon entry into adulthood. Parental outlooks have a significant impact on the extent to which children with intellectual disabilities exercise self-determination. The constraints placed by parents on their adolescent children with intellectual disabilities may take various, sometimes indirect, forms. Faced with parental resistance, young adults with intellectual disabilities can employ a variety of strategies in pursuit of greater freedom and autonomy.