Quality of life can be defined both in terms of population level outcomes and individual experiences. This entry focuses on the latter. Quality of life encompasses objective elements such as physical and emotional well-being, social relationships, personal development, community inclusion, and productivity, as well as individual’s perceived satisfaction with these elements, considering the importance of each element to the individual. This entry looks at the development of the concept of quality of life, ways of improving the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, how quality of life is measured, and research findings on the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Quality of life has become an important measure of the outcomes and thus effectiveness of human services (health, ...

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