Prevalence of psychopathology across a service population of parents with intellectual disabilities and their children

Abstract

This study identified and investigated the incidence of childhood trauma and psychopathology across a population of parents with intellectual disabilities (IDs) known to a parenting service in the United Kingdom over a 5-year period and examined the emotional and physical welfare of their children. Data were gathered from 49 parents with ID and 58 children currently living with their families. Four measures were used to identify risk and level of need at referral, the prevalence of childhood abuse reported by parents, and any associations with current levels of psychopathology in the parents or their children. Symptoms of psychopathology were prevalent among 45% of parents with ID, although the association with parent childhood trauma was weak. Significant associations were found between the presence of parent psychopathology and mental and cognitive problems in the children, such as attention deficits, anxiety disorders, and autism. Also, a significant relationship was identified between parents who reported childhood trauma and registration of their children on the Child Protection Register for risk of neglect and/or maltreatment. Sexual abuse and emotional abuse were the most prevalent risk categories under which these children were registered, the latter category significantly associating with parents' self-reports of emotional abuse as children. These findings were significantly different from that identified for children of parents without reported childhood trauma (p < 0.01). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)