Behavioural challenges in people with intellectual disability : a comparison between those with a history of sexual assault and those without

Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-57).Includes abstract.Literature suggests that challenging behaviour is one of the most common problems associated with intellectual disability. The aim of this research was to compare the behaviour of two groups of people with intellectual disabilities, depending on whether they had a history of a sexual assault or not, to determine whether there was a difference in their presentation and severity of challenging behaviours. Following a review of relevant literature, the study had a one-directional hypothesis that people who had experienced a sexual assault would present with increased and more severe challenging behaviours than those with no sexual assault history. 54 participants who are carers for people with intellectual disability were interviewed using the Aberrant Behaviour Checklist-Community (ABC-C). All participants were identified and accessed through Cape mental health Society, a nongovernmental organisation that supports psychiatric patients and people with intellectual disability. 27 of the people with intellectual disability had a history of sexual assault and the other 27 had no known history of sexual assault. The ABC-C, a questionnaire with five subscales, namely Irritability, Lethargy, Stereotypical behaviour, Hyperactivity, and Inappropriate speech, was used to assess the presence of challenging behaviours in the intellectually disabled people they were caring for. The ABC-C has been used in previous studies and has a well-established validity and reliability. The performance of the two groups was quantitatively analysed using the Mann-Whitney U statistical test. The results showed that intellectually disabled people who had been sexually assaulted had more challenging behaviours, and these challenging behaviours were more severe than those who did not have a sexual assault history. This was specifically so on three of the subscales: Irritability, Lethargy and Hyperactivity. There were no significant differences between the two groups in their presentation and severity of aberrant behaviour on the Stereotypy and Inappropriate speech subscales. The findings suggest that a history of sexual assault is associated with an increase in, and the presence of more severe challenging behaviours, in people with intellectual disabilities. This supports the argument that intellectually disabled people do react to trauma, and that sexual assault may have adverse effects on their well-being and particularly on their behaviour. The results will hopefully help caregivers of intellectually disabled people to recognise that challenging behaviours may be an expression of trauma