Family networks of people with disabilities and their role in promoting the empowerment of people with disabilities

摘要

Family members are the key source of social, emotional and financial assistance for people with disabilitiesthroughout their lives. However, the role of the family undergoes significant changes in different periods of thelife of people with disabilities. During childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age, people with disabilitiesneed other forms of support, which means that they undertake educational, professional or family activitiesrelated to starting their own families and bringing up children. Around that time, their relationship with thefamily is changing. The role of the family is becoming limited in the area of control and assistance in makinglife choices for people with disabilities.Our goal will be to reconstruct the family’s presence in social networks of adults and to identify socio‑demographicand emotional factors that affect the number of contacts with the family. This will be the starting point forpresenting the impact of family relationships on strengthening empowerment and promoting self‑determinationamong adults with disabilities. The analysis will be based on data from Social Diagnosis 2015.