Family Self-Care Pattern in Families with Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Pilot Study

Family self-care emphasizes a family's role in health promotion and protection, reflecting society's views on health, illness, and human relationships. In families with children with an intellectual disability, where the child may lack self-care abilities, family self-care becomes crucial, highlighting that self-care needs exceed individual capacity and require family cooperation. Background/Objectives: This pilot study aims to explore the factors influencing family self-care and define attributes of its cognitive, psychosocial, physical, and behavioral domains in families with children with intellectual disabilities. Methods: A descriptive and correlational study with forty-four families was conducted. Exploratory analysis and linear regression analysis were estimated through the assumptions of the Gauss-Markov theorem (specifically homoscedasticity, normality, and model specification adequacy). Multicollinearity was also evaluated. Results: The significant family conditioning factors identified were family income, education level, degree of physical and functional dependence of the child, family household size, and social support. Socioeconomic, demographic, and health-related factors shaped self-care experiences. Conclusions: Family empowerment and the impact of disability are key elements in enabling self-care. Families reporting a greater impact of their child's condition tended to feel less empowered, directly affecting their ability to perform daily self-care activities. The evidence suggests a pattern in which self-care activities might be reactive rather than proactive and focused on managing immediate challenges rather than long-term well-being. These insights can guide healthcare professionals, especially family nurses, toward a holistic, family-centered approach to supporting families with children with intellectual disabilities.