Comparing Responsibility in Female Students with and Without Intellectual Disability

Responsibility is an inner commitment by the individuals to most effectively perform the attributed activities. In general, responsibility is divided into two individual and social sections. Individual responsibility indicates that one has to be responsible for self and the situation in which he/she is placed, as well as for the others’ needs. The individual responsibility concept focuses on the individual; however, it occurs in a social context. Social responsibility comprises the tasks that every person must conduct, beyond his/her benefits and in the benefits of society. The literature suggests that responsibility plays a crucial role in the individual and social life of people. Besides, as a rule, children and students practice taking home and school responsibilities through various activities. Additionally, they are prepared for collective life in civil society and play an active role in citizenship and participate fully in their destiny, school, and society. However, children and students with intellectual disabilities fail to demonstrate responsible skills without adults’ guidance; responsibility development in these individuals requires providing opportunities for participation and responsibility. Responsibility development is among the aspects where children and students with intellectual disabilities require special support. However, this area has been disregarded by prior research. The main purpose of educating children and adolescents with an intellectual disability is the development of personal and social responsibilities. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare responsibility among female students with and without intellectual disability. The present research data helps to fill the research gaps to practically improve responsibility in students with intellectual disabilities. 

This was a causal–comparative study. The statistical population of the present study included all students with and without intellectual disability in Shiraz City, Iran, in the 2015–2016 academic year. The sample size was equal to 134; sampling method for girl students with intellectual disability and healthy students were convenience, and multistage random sampling methods, respectively. To collect data, the Responsibility Scale was used. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS using Independent Samples t–test for the total score of responsibility. Moreover, the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was applied for testing responsibility subscales. The significance level was set at 0.05. 

Independent Samples t–test results suggested a significant difference between the two study groups (p<0.001). Accordingly, female students with intellectual disabilities gained a less total score of responsibility, compared to their healthy counterparts. In other words, female students with intellectual disabilities were less responsible than those without such disabilities. Furthermore, MANOVA data revealed a significant difference between the two study groups in individual responsibility (p<0.001) and social responsibility (p<0.001). Therefore, female students with intellectual disabilities obtained lower scores than their healthy peers. Thus, female students with intellectual disability in the subscales of individual and social responsibility respectively achieved lower scores than those without intellectual disability.

Paying attention to responsibility training should be among the priorities of the curriculum for people with intellectual disabilities. As a result, they can improve their responsibility skills for independent living in the future. Therefore, it is essential to teach responsibility skills to people with intellectual disabilities at school, as well as in the family and peer groups. Besides, it is essential to empower the families of people with intellectual disabilities to help these people learn these skills better and faster.