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Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder in people with intellectual disabilities: A Delphi expert rating
Doris Rittmannsberger1, Andreas Kocman1, Germain Weber1
1Department of Applied Psychology: Health, Development, Enhancement and Intervention, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Background:
There is a lack of research on trauma in people with intellectual disabilities. This study assessed expert consensus on the traumatic potential of a broader range of adverse life events, and differences in symptom manifestation and behavioural symptom equivalents of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
Method:
The present authors conducted a three-step Delphi survey using a mixed-methods design. Twenty-nine expert raters participated in the survey, and 16 persisted to the final round. Consensus was calculated using the interquartile range.
Results:
Traumatic potential was attributed to adverse life events, particularly revolving around sexuality and autonomy. DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD were rated as partially adequate, with behavioural symptom expression being the main difference to the general population.
Conclusion:
The range of traumatic events should be broadened for people with intellectual disabilities. A specific subset of events need to be defined in future research. Detection of PTSD depends upon determining specific symptom correlates of challenging behaviour.
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