Introduction. Type of housing is of great importance for the overall quality
of life and general psychosocial well-being of persons with intellectual
disabilities, as evidenced by the results of numerous studies showing that
people with intellectual disabilities living in institutions have a lower
level of life satisfaction compared to those living in the open community.
Material and Methods. In order to determine the levels of experienced stress
related to the type of housing in people with intellectual disabilities, we
carried out a study including 122 persons with intellectual disabilities
living in different types of housing; in institutions (n = 51), with
families (n = 38), and in the supported housing program (n = 33). The Life
Stress Inventory was used for the purpose of this research. Results. The
results showed that people who were included in the supported housing
program experienced the least stress, compared to the subjects who lived
with their families or in institutions (p < 0.001). Stress was the least
prevalent in the supported housing program, but the other two groups had
similar results. The presence of stress did not differ significantly between
subjects living with their families and those living in institutions.
Conclusion. We can conclude that subjects living in supported housing
experienced significantly less stress compared to the other two groups.
Different types of housing were associated with different levels of stress.
Overall, negative interpersonal relationship was identified as the stress
factor that correlated most significantly with other stress factors.