Psychiatric disorders and behavior problems in people with intellectual disability

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Intellectual Disability Research

Background:

• The link between behavior problems and psychiatric disorders in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) remains unclear.
• Existing research has not fully elucidated whether behavior problems are direct symptoms of psychiatric disorders or secondary to them.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the prevalence and patterns of psychiatric disorders in individuals with ID exhibiting moderate to severe behavior problems versus those without such issues.
• To investigate the association between specific behavior problems and psychiatric disorders across different severity levels of ID.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study design was employed, matching individuals with ID and behavior problems to a control group without these issues.
• Psychiatric disorders were screened using four instruments: Reiss Screen, Mini PAS-ADD, DASH-II, and ADD.
• Participants resided in community settings with varying degrees of intellectual disability (mild to profound).

Main Results:

• Individuals with moderate/severe behavior problems showed significantly more psychiatric disorder symptoms than the control group, even when behavior disorder items were excluded.
• The majority of participants with behavior problems exhibited symptoms of major psychiatric disorders.
• Participants with mild/moderate ID had higher rates of psychosis and depression symptoms compared to those with severe/profound ID.

Conclusions:

• A significant proportion of behavior problems in individuals with ID may be manifestations of psychiatric disorders or indicative of challenging life circumstances.
• The pattern of associations between specific behaviors and psychiatric disorders differed between mild/moderate and severe/profound ID groups.
• Depression was linked to aggression/screaming in severe/profound ID and self-injury in mild/moderate ID.