Children with intellectual disability: fathers’ self-reported involvement in rehabilitation in the United Arab Emirates

Background: Community-based rehabilitation has been advocated as an effective way to promote the participation of children with disabilities, such as those with intellectual disabilities (ID), in services located within their communities. While children with ID have reduced cognitive, social and physical abilities, the extent of involvement of fathers in their parenting is unresearched in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Objective: The current study presents an exploration of the involvement of fathers of children with ID in their upbringing. Method: A total of 152 fathers of children with ID completed a questionnaire known as Fathers’ Involvement in Development and Rehabilitation Scale which is made up of three sub-scales: attitudes, support and participation in training. SPSS was used for the computation of means, correlations, linear regressions and moderation analyses. Results: Fathers rated themselves positively on each of the tenets of involvement, which also correlated positively with each other. The country of origin of fathers and the level of needs of children impacted or moderated the relationship between the tenets of involvement. Conclusion: The study findings have implication for policy with a recommendation for tailored training programmes for fathers based on their unique characteristics or situations in the UAE.