The More Socially Disadvantaged a Child with an Intellectual Disability is, the Greater the Risk of Developing Psychiatric Disorders, New Study Says
January 8, 2008
A new study from Lancaster University finds that a significant proportion of the increased risk of psychiatric disorders among children with intellectual disabilities may be due to their increased rate of exposure to psychosocial disadvantage, such as poverty. In the study, 641 children (3.5% of the total sample) were identified as having intellectual disabilities and 17,774 as not having them. The prevalence of a wide range of psychiatric disorders was significantly higher-at 36%--among children with intellectual disabilities than among children without the disability.
The study is published in the December 2007 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. Read an abstract of "Mental health of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Britain" by Dr. Eric Emerson and Dr. Chris Hatton.
To read a press release issued on the study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, click here.