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The psychological impact of abuse on men and women with severe intellectual disabilities

The psychological impact of abuse on men and women with severe intellectual disabilities
The psychological impact of abuse on men and women with severe intellectual disabilities
Background
In other populations, the psychological impact of abuse has been conceptualized as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, DSM‐IV, American Psychiatric Association (APA), 1994), but little is known about whether this is appropriate for adults with severe intellectual disabilities and very limited communication skills.

Methods
An informant interview, based on the framework provided by PTSD, but supplemented with additional questions, was developed and was used to elicit the emotional, behavioural and physiological symptoms of alleged abuse in 18 people with intellectual disabilities at three time points: in the 3 months immediately prior to the alleged abuse (Time 1), in the 3 months immediately after the abuse (Time 2) and in the last 3 months prior to interview (Time 3).

Results

The reports of the family and carer informants indicated that, following their alleged abuse, the victims experienced marked increases in the frequency and severity of emotional, physiological and behavioural symptoms of psychological distress. Over time, there was some alleviation of these difficulties, but psychological functioning remained severely compromised.

Conclusions
While the established PTSD framework is appropriate for examining the psychological impact of abuse, some amendments are required to enable clinicians to examine fully the distress of alleged victims with severe intellectual disabilities.
1360-2322
257-270
Rowsell, Alison
058f3917-b556-4eef-a393-4c025a3c4ccb
Clare, I. C. H.
5e7b625d-65e9-4408-a418-1a1fde0aa02c
Murphy, G.H.
0e512a2a-e54a-432f-95bf-ec43159cf5ad
Rowsell, Alison
058f3917-b556-4eef-a393-4c025a3c4ccb
Clare, I. C. H.
5e7b625d-65e9-4408-a418-1a1fde0aa02c
Murphy, G.H.
0e512a2a-e54a-432f-95bf-ec43159cf5ad

Rowsell, Alison, Clare, I. C. H. and Murphy, G.H. (2012) The psychological impact of abuse on men and women with severe intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 26 (4), 257-270. (doi:10.1111/jar.12016).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background
In other populations, the psychological impact of abuse has been conceptualized as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, DSM‐IV, American Psychiatric Association (APA), 1994), but little is known about whether this is appropriate for adults with severe intellectual disabilities and very limited communication skills.

Methods
An informant interview, based on the framework provided by PTSD, but supplemented with additional questions, was developed and was used to elicit the emotional, behavioural and physiological symptoms of alleged abuse in 18 people with intellectual disabilities at three time points: in the 3 months immediately prior to the alleged abuse (Time 1), in the 3 months immediately after the abuse (Time 2) and in the last 3 months prior to interview (Time 3).

Results

The reports of the family and carer informants indicated that, following their alleged abuse, the victims experienced marked increases in the frequency and severity of emotional, physiological and behavioural symptoms of psychological distress. Over time, there was some alleviation of these difficulties, but psychological functioning remained severely compromised.

Conclusions
While the established PTSD framework is appropriate for examining the psychological impact of abuse, some amendments are required to enable clinicians to examine fully the distress of alleged victims with severe intellectual disabilities.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 26 November 2012
Published date: 29 December 2012

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 424634
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/424634
ISSN: 1360-2322
PURE UUID: 15ebc80e-ec0f-4e48-aca0-d7d661d05b5c

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Date deposited: 05 Oct 2018 11:39
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 21:21

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Contributors

Author: Alison Rowsell
Author: I. C. H. Clare
Author: G.H. Murphy

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