An exploratory study of psychiatric symptoms in intellectually disabled people with and without a known history of sexual abuse

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-74).Current research shows that people with intellectual disabilities display psychiatric symptoms which are often similar to those found in the general population. Furthermore, some literature has found that psychiatric difficulties in the intellectually disabled population can manifest in atypical forms which differ from those exhibited in the general population. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in the intellectually disabled population in South Africa. This particular study formed part of a larger project looking at trauma in a sample of intellectually disabled people. The PAS-ADD Checklist, which consists of two sections, was administered to a sample of caregivers of intellectually disabled people with and without a known history of sexual abuse. The data was analysed using non-parametric statistical tests. The first section of the instrument focused on the potentially traumatic life events that were reported by the caregivers and it was found that the group of individuals with a history of sexual assault had experienced more of these in comparison with the control group. The second section consisted of statements which were designed to elicit psychiatric symptoms on three subscales namely, possible organic condition, affective or neurotic disorder and psychotic disorder. The results showed that the total sample had a fairly high overall prevalence rate of psychiatric symptoms. In particular, the group with a History of Sexual Abuse obtained significantly higher scores on the affective/neurotic subscale when compared with the control group. There were also significant differences between the groups on the organic condition with the History of Sexual Abuse Group showing a higher prevalence of symptoms. The groups also differed on the psychotic disorder with the group who had a History of Sexual Abuse obtaining a higher score, although this was not statistically significant. The implications of the findings suggest that people with an intellectual disability who have a History of Sexual Abuse display an increased rate of psychiatric symptoms, particularly on the affective/neurotic spectrum. Whilst the findings generated from this study are in line with much of the international literature around the relationship between potentially traumatic life events and a high prevalence of affective symptoms in the intellectually disabled population, there is still a dearth of research in this area in South Africa