Reported responses to sexual trauma in people with intellectual disability : an analysis of clinical psychologists' psycho-legal reports (original) (raw)
Related papers
2002
Declaration of interest None. Within the general population, experience of sexual trauma or abuse is associated with psychological disturbance (Briere, 1992; Kendall-Tackett et al, 1993; Friedrich, 1998). However, there are few publications concerning the psychological reactions of people with learning disabilities to sexual abuse. Most significantly, there are no controlled studies. Furthermore, the majority of studies are single case reports, and few demonstrate a systematic approach to documenting the sequelae of trauma in this group. This dearth in the literature is surprising, given that research in the general population suggests that individual responses to abuse may be less related to the actual characteristics of the event than to developmental variables that predispose the individual to being overwhelmed by the experience (Friedrich, 1998). In addition, we know that people with learning disabilities suffer from a similar or higher rate of mental health problems compared wi...
Women with intellectual disabilities--a study of sexuality, sexual abuse and protection skills
Australian family physician, 2011
Sexual abuse and abusive relationships are known to be especially common in people with intellectual disability. This study explored how women with intellectual disability understand sex, relationships and sexual abuse, the effects of sexual abuse on their lives, and how successfully they protect themselves from abuse. Semistructured narrative interviews with nine women with mild intellectual disability in Queensland, Australia. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed qualitatively. Major themes that emerged were: sexual knowledge and sources of knowledge; negotiating sexual relationships; declining unwanted sexual contact; self protection strategies; sexual abuse experiences; and sequelae of sexual abuse. Most participants reported unwanted or abusive sexual experiences. They described sequelae such as difficulties with sex and relationships, and anxiety and depression. They described themselves as having inadequate self protection skills and difficulty repo...
A study on sexual violence inflicted on individuals with intellectual developmental disorder
Disability and Health Journal, 2017
Background: Rates of violence and abuse perpetrated on people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) have been reported to be significantly higher than on individuals without disability. However, rates of sexual violence against people with IDD in some less industrialized countries, such as Sri Lanka, have not been previously reported. Objectives: To describe characteristics of victims and perpetrators as well as the types of abuse found during medicolegal examinations of patients with IDD. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study that utilized a convenience sample of individuals with IDD who presented after abuse at three hospitals in Sri Lanka from 2011 to 2015. Results: All subjects had mild or moderate IDD; 90.2% were females; 43% were between the ages of 11 to 30 years; and 44% lived with both parents. Most of the victims (48%) disclosed the abuse and 29% of the events were witnessed. The perpetrators were known to the victim 49% of the time, and 49% reported a single episode of abuse. Victims reported that the abuse had taken place in the victim's house 47% of the time. Vaginal intercourse and intercrural intercourse were the most common types of abuse, and 23% of patients were found to be pregnant. In this study that relied on victim report and medicolegal investigation, parties close to the victim usually perpetrated the sexual abuse. Therefore, it is important to have more than one level of support and care for individuals with IDD so there is more opportunity for reporting.
Sexual abuse of intellectually disabled youth : a review
2013
Intellectual disability (ID) is a condition characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, which affects various everyday social and practical skills. This disability manifests itself before the age of 18 (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [AAIDD], 2010). While the global prevalence of ID is only 1% (Maulik, Mascarenhas, Mathers, Dua & Saxena, 2011), research shows that the risk of being sexually abused is 2 to 6 times greater among intellectually disabled youth than among typically developing youth (Dion, Bouchard, Gaudreault & Mercier, 2012). It is also argued that the prevalence of sexual abuse may be underestimated among intellectually disabled youth, as disclosure may be more difficult for them because of their limited vocabulary and communicative abilities (Murphy, 2007). Despite this higher risk, professionals who work with this population have little information on the issue. Myths and prejudices ...
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 2019
• Sexual abuse is when someone does something sexual to someone else when they do not want them to. We wanted to find out how people get help after sexual abuse. • We learned that talking with a psychologist or with staff helps. It is best if these are people you trust. • It is also important that you know that the help will work. • How everyone involved in a person's support thinks about the abuse also plays a role in the kind of help a person gets.
International Journal of Developmental Disabilities
Socio-interpersonal factors have a strong potential to protect individuals against pathological processing of traumatic events. While perceived social support has emerged as an important protective factor, this effect has not been replicated in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). One reason for this might be that the relevance of socio-interpersonal factors differs in people with ID: Social support may be associated with more stress due to a generally high dependency on sometimes unwanted support. An exploration of the role of posttraumatic, socio-interpersonal factors for people with ID is therefore necessary in order to provide adequate support. The current study aims to explore the subjective perception of social reactions to disclosure of sexual violence in four women with mild to moderate ID. The study was conducted in Austria. The women were interviewed about their perception of received social reactions as benevolent or harmful, their emotional response, and whether they perceived being treated differently due to their ID diagnosis. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. First, the interviews were coded inductively, and social reactions were then deductively assigned to three categories that were derived from general research: positive reactions, unsupportive acknowledgement, turning against. Findings on the perception of social reactions were in line with findings from the general population. Overall, participants reported that they did not feel that they were treated any differently from persons without disabilities. However, the social reactions they received included unjustified social reactions, such as perpetrators not being held accountable. A possible explanation may be a habituation and internalisation of negative societal attitudes towards women with ID. Empowerment programmes and barrier-free structural support for women with ID following trauma exposure should be improved.
2019
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder is one of the most common mental health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV), with prevalence estimates ranging from 31-84.4% in women who have suffered intimate partner violence (Golding, 1999). The PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a commonly used instrument to measure PTSD and the Escala de Gravedad de Síntomas-Versión Forense (EGS-F: Echeburúa et al., 2017) is an instrument designed to measure PTSD symptomology specifically in female victims. Objective: The aim of this poster was to compare PCL-5 and EGS-F questionnaires. Method: The sample included a total of 35 female victims of IPV who were recruited from four non-profit associations for women. Results: The results showed a high Pearson correlation between the PCL-5 and EGS-F total scores [r = 0.822, n = 34, p = .000]. With respect to subscales, the correlations were also highly significant for arousal and reactivity [r = 0.889, n = 35, p = .000], and cognition and mood change [r = 0.699, n = 35, p = .000]. Three additional subscales of the EGS-F were also correlated with the total score of the PCL-5: dissociation [r = 0.654, n = 34, p = .000], central [r = 0.894, n = 35, p = .000] and functionality [r = 0.725, n = 35, p = .00]. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the EGS-F performs similarly to the PCL-5, a gold-standard instrument in measuring PTSD. Furthermore, the relationship between subscales of the EGS-F and PCL-5 suggests that this questionnaire may provide useful additional information specific to PTSD among female victims.
Clinical effects of sexual abuse on people with learning disability
British Journal of Psychiatry, 2003
BackgroundThere are few publications concerning the psychological reactions of people with learning disabilities to sexual abuse. Most significantly, there are no controlled studies and few which demonstrate a systematic approach to documenting the sequelae of trauma.AimsTo critically review the published research in this field.MethodA literature search in peer-reviewed psychiatry, psychology nursing and social care journals for the years 1974 to 2001 was conducted and 25 studies were reviewed.ResultsSeveral studies suggest that, following sexual abuse, people with learning disabilities may experience a range of psychopathology similar to that experienced by adults and children in the general population. However, because of methodological limitations, these results are not conclusive.ConclusionsWhether people with learning disabilities experience reactions to sexual abuse similar to the general population has yet to be explored by systematic research.
Sexual abuse of intellectually disabled youths: A review
is a neuro psychologist and professor at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She worked as a psychologist in a rehabilitation center for people with an intellectual disability and is conducting research on children and adolescents with an intellectual disability. Mireille Cyr, Ph.D., is a psychologist and full professor at the Université de Montréal. She is co-holder of the Marie-Vincent Inter-University Chair on Child Sexual Abuse and director of the CRIPCAS. Carmen Dionne, Ph.D., is a professor at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and holds a Canada Research Chair on Early Intervention. She is head of the CRDITED MCQ IU.
Differences between sexually abused children with and without intellectual disabilities
2017
The risk of being sexually abused is 4.6 times greater among children with intellectual disabilities than among typically developing children, while the global prevalence of intellectual disabilities is only 1%. No study has yet included a representative sample of sexually abused children with intellectual disabilities reported to child protection services and a control group of children without intellectual disabilities also reported being sexually abused in the province of Quebec (Canada). This study concerns children whose reports of sexual abuse were deemed founded after the protection services investigation (n = 102). Descriptive (percentages, means, standard deviations) and comparative (logistics regressions) analyses were used to describe and compare the victims with intellectual disabilities (n = 10) and those without intellectual disabilities (n = 92), regarding sociodemographic and caregiver characteristics, child protection services, sexual abuse suffered and difficulties...