Friendships & Dating: Enhancing social participation for adults with developmental disabilities in Alaska

Meaningful relationships with others are often elusive to persons with developmental disabilities, but no less desired for full inclusion and participation in society. Persons with disabilities have limited opportunities to develop and maintain social resources. It is well documented that persons with disabilities are victims of interpersonal violence at higher rates than peers without disabilities. There is a paucity of empirical research focused on evidence-based interventions in these arenas. The Friendships & Dating Intervention (FDI), an educational program focused on experiential learning, was developed to address these concerns. The FDI is delivered over a 10 week period by community agency personnel in agency and community settings. The FDI incorporates innovative approaches that combine: 1) increasing social networks; 2) increasing social activities; and 3) preventing and/or decreasing interpersonal violence. The FDI has been piloted with 85 adults with developmental disabilities in Alaska. Qualitative feedback from participants report FDI strategies resulted in improved social relationships. Quantitative data was analyzed utilizing a piecewise linear mixed model approach. The results showed an average social network size of 4.8 at baseline, which was significantly increased by a mean of 2.5 (p = .005) at the end of the intervention. Further, the data showed an average of 2.3 incidents of interpersonal violence at baseline, which was significantly decreased by a mean of 1.4 (p = .024) at the end of the intervention. We present findings and offer recommendations for further development of evidence-based interventions to increase social participation and satisfaction for individuals with developmental disabilities.