Quality of life and Social Acceptance: An examination of the role of a residential camp in promoting quality of life for youth with disabilities

Quality of life has been in the forefront of health promotion given it's similar constructs with physical and mental health (Giacobbi, Stancil, Hardin, & Bryant, 2008). The inquiry presented in this abstract examined engagement of youth with disabilities in a residential camp on perceptions of health related quality of life and social acceptance. Data collection took place during the summer of 2011 in the Midwest with four different disability specific (cancer, hearing impairments, muscular dystrophy, & mobility impairments) camps. A convenience sample of participants (N = 172; 8 –18 years) completed the Peds QOL General Well-Being and Social Acceptance scales pre/post camp and 61 of the same campers completed these scales at the 10-12 week follow-up. Pre, post, and follow-up data were analyzed within each specialized camp. Results indicated that youth with hearing impairments using cochlear implants had a statistically significant increase in quality of life (t(36) = 2.02; p = .05) and social acceptance (t(38) = 4.69; p = .03) for pre/post camp comparison and social acceptance at follow-up (F=9.68; p=.04). One explanation for this finding is a unique culture developed between these campers, apart from the Deaf and hearing cultures, which fostered perceptions of increased quality of life and social acceptance. While there was not statically significant differences between pre/post camp comparisons for the other camps, findings indicated a statically significant correlation between quality of life and social acceptance. This supports the notion that social acceptance is an important part of quality of life for youth with disabilities.