Abstract
This paper employs Shye's (1979, 1985, 1989)Quality of Life (QOL) model to examine the QOLof 920 boys and girls in 46 Residential CareFacilities in Israel, from the perspective ofboth the residents and the staff. Specifically, it examines the degree ofcorrespondence in the residents' and staffs'assessments of the residents' QOL and theassociation between the degree ofcorrespondence and the quality of the facility. Findings showed that while residents and staffmade similar assessments in various areas ofthe residents' cultural and social QOL, theresidents rated their physical QOL higher andtheir psychological QOL lower than the staffdid. Findings also showed that while residentsand staff agreed on the residents' QOL in thepoorest facilities, they disagreed in theothers. In the better facilities, the staffrated the residents' QOL lower than theresidents' did; in the poorer facilities, theresidents rated their QOL lower than the staff. These findings raise concern about staffawareness of the psychological hardships anddistress of the juveniles in their care, aswell as about their ability under thesecircumstances to provide adequate psychologicalcare.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bates, B.C., D.J. English and G.S. Kouidou: 1997, ‘Residential treatment and its alternatives: A review of the literature', Child and Youth care Forum 26(1), 7-51.
Bowers, F.E., J.C. McGinnis, R.A. Ervin and P.C. Friman: 1999, ‘Merging research and practice: The example of positive peer reporting applied to social rejection', Education and Treatment of Children 22(2), pp. 218-226.
Bowers, F.E., D.W. Woods, W.D. Carlyon and P.C. Friman: 2000, ‘Using positive peer reporting to improve the social interactions and acceptance of socially isolated adolescents in residential care: A systematic replication', Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 33(2), pp. 239-242.
Cairns, D. (1990). Quality of Life, Assessment of Haemodialysis Patients: An Application of a Systemic Life Quality Model. Sydney, Macquarie University Doctoral Thesis.
Coughlan, R.J. and N.S. Coughlan: 1999, ‘Goal attainment scaling: An outcome based approach to developmental assessment for South African youth in residential settings', Southern African Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 11(1), pp. 27-37.
Courtney, M.: 1993, ‘Standardized outcome evaluation of child welfare services out of home care: Problems and possibilities', Children and Youth Services Review 15, 349-369.
Cummins, R.A. and D. Dunt: 1988, ‘Evaluation of a deinstitutionalization progrna in Australia: The St. Nicholas project', International Journal of Rehabilitation-Research 11(4), pp. 395-396.
Davidson-Arad, B. and Y. Wozner: 2001a, ‘The use of Shye's Systemic Quality Life model in the examination of child protection officers' decision', Social Indicators Research 56, pp. 1-20.
Davidson-Arad, B. and Y. Wozner: 2001b, ‘The least detrimental alternative: Deciding whether to remove children at risk from their homes', International Social Work 44(2), pp. 229-239.
Davidson-Arad, B.: 2001a, ‘Predicted changes in children's Quality of Life in decisions regarding the removal of children at risk from their homes', Children and Youth Services Review 23(2), pp. 127-143.
Davidson-Arad, B.: 2001b, ‘Parental features and Quality of Life in the decision to remove children at risk from home', Child abuse and Neglect 25, pp. 47-64.
Davidson-Arad, B., D. Englechin-Segal and Y. Wozner: submitted to publication, ‘Short term follow-up outcomes intervention with children at risk'.
Elizur, D. and S. Shye: 1990, ‘Quality of work life and its relation to quality of life', Applied Psychology: an International Review 39(3), pp. 275-291.
Fulcher, L.: 2001, ‘Differential assessment of residential group care for children and young people', British Journal of Social Work 31(3), pp. 417-435.
Green R.S. and F.L. Newman: 1996, ‘Criteria for selecting instruments to assess treatment outcomes', Residential Treatment for Children and Youth 13(4), pp. 39-48.
LeBuffe, P.A. and S.I. Pfeiffer: 1996, ‘Measuring outcomes in residential treatment with the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders', in S.I. Pfeiffer (ed.), Outcome Assessment in Tesidential Treatment (Haworth Press, New York), pp. 83-91.
Lyons, J.S., P. Terry, Z. Martinovich, J. Peterson and B. Bouska: 2001, ‘Outcome trajectories for adolescents in residential treatment: A statewide evaluation', Journal of Child and Family Studies. 10(3), pp. 333-345.
Mcnaul, M.A.: 2000, ‘A consumer satisfaction outcome evaluation of a day residential treatment program serving severely emotionally disturbed children'. Dissertation Abstracts — International; Section B, The Sciences and Engineering 60(12–13), p. 6375.
Moore, K.J. and K.K. Shannon: 1993, ‘The development of superstitious beliefs in effectiveness of treatment of anger: Evidence for the importance of experimental program evaluation in applied setting', Behavioral Residential Treatment 8(2), pp. 147-161.
Morison, S. and A.L. Ellwood: 2000, ‘Resiliency and aftermath of deprivation: A second look at the development of Romanian orphanage children', Merrill Palmer Quarterly 46(4), pp. 717-737.
Poertner, J., T.P. McDonald and C. Murray: 2000, ‘Child welfare outcomes revisited', Children and Youth Services Review 22(9/10), pp. 789-810.
Shapiro, J.P., C.J. Welker and J.C. Pierce: 1999, ‘An evaluation of residential treatment for youth with mental health and delinquency related problems', Residential Treatment for Children and Youth 17(2), pp. 33-48.
Shye, S.: 1979, A Systemic Facet Theoretical Approach to the Study of Quality of Life (Institute of Applied Research, Jerusalem, Israel).
Shye, S.: 1985, ‘Human life quality: An action system', in S. Shye (ed.), Multiple Scaling, the Theory and Application of Partial Order Scalogram Analysis (North Holland, Amsterdam, New York, Oxford).
Shye, S.: 1989, ‘The systemic quality of life model. A basis for urban renewal evaluation', Social Indicators Research 21, pp. 243-378.
Veerman, P.E.: 1991, The Rights of the Child and the Changing Images of Childhood (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dorderecht).
Wilcox, D. and P.W. Dowrick: 1992, ‘Anger management with adolescents', Residential Treatment for Children and Youth 9(3), pp. 29-39.
Wolins, M., Y. Wozner and S. Shye: 1980, ‘Rejuvenating the asylum: a field study', Social Work Research and Abstracts 16(1), pp. 17-25.
Wozner, J., M. Golan and B. Davidson-Arad: 1993, The Quality of Life in institiutions for children and youth in Israel. The Bob Shapell School, Tel Aviv University. Ramot Publication.
Wozner, J., M. Golan, B. Davidson-Arad and R. Dekel: 1997, ‘The quality of life of institutions for young people', International Journal of Child and Family Welfare 2(2), 127-143.
Wozner, Y., M. Golan, G. Rahav, B. Arad and B. Pinhassi: 1994, Social Work and Welfare Services In Prisons. Research report.
Wright, N.A.: 1995, ‘Social skills training for conduct-disordered boys in residential treatment: A promising approach', Residential Treatment for Children & Youth 12(4), pp. 15-28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davidson-Arad, B., Dekel, R. & Wozner, Y. Correspondence in Residents' and Staff Members' Assessments of the Quality of Life of Children in Residential Care Facilities. Social Indicators Research 68, 77–89 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000025579.95086.d1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000025579.95086.d1