Romantic relationships and interpersonal violence among adults with developmental disabilities.
Adults with developmental disabilities date and marry, but over a third suffer violence and stay silent.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Busch et al. (2010) mailed a survey to adults with developmental disabilities. They asked about dating, marriage, and any hurtful acts.
The team wanted to know how common violence is in these relationships. They also asked if people told anyone after being hurt.
What they found
Most adults said they had dated or married. Yet more than one-third had faced yelling, pushing, or worse.
After the abuse, over one-third stayed quiet. They did not seek help from staff, family, or police.
How this fits with other research
Mae Simcoe et al. (2018) looked at kids exposed to violence at home. They found many of those children later have developmental delays. Together, the two studies show violence touches the same group across the life span.
Davies et al. (2014) warn not to call every aggressive act a sign of depression. M et al. agree: the hurt reported in dating is real violence, not just a mood symptom.
Evlyn et al. (2021) show college students hold mixed views about adults with ID having sex lives. M et al. prove those adults do form relationships—yet they also face danger that helpers rarely notice.
Why it matters
You may teach dating skills or run social groups. Add safety questions to your intake. Ask, Has anyone scared or hurt you? Build a plan that includes trusted staff and easy phone numbers. One extra question can open the door to help that many clients never receive.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Romantic relationships are important in the lives of adults with developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore dating and romantic relationships among these adults and to identify the nature and extent of interpersonal violence in their relationships. A random sample of 47 women and men participated in semistructured interviews. The authors found that relationships sounded very typical of people without disabilities, but their time together was more limited than they wanted. A high percentage of participants had experienced interpersonal violence, primarily in the form of name calling, yelling, screaming, and physical assault. Although the police and family or friends were the first sources of assistance following an abusive incident, more than one third of the participants said they did not seek any help.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-48.2.89