Mental ill-health and care pathways in adults with intellectual disability across different residential types.
Adults with ID who live alone or in supported flats carry the heaviest mental-health load and use the most outpatient care.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at the adults with intellectual disability living in Scotland.
They split the group by where each person lived: family home, supported flat, or on their own.
Then they counted who had mental-health diagnoses and who used outpatient clinics.
What they found
People living alone had the most mental-health diagnoses and the most clinic visits.
Supported-living residents had the highest rate of personality disorders.
Those still at home with family showed the most anxiety disorders.
How this fits with other research
Hastings et al. (2002) saw rising physical illness in older group-home residents, but Eddie et al. show mental illness peaks in younger independent dwellers.
Cooper et al. (2011) found poor neighborhoods cut specialist visits; Eddie’s data say residence type matters more than postcode.
McGeown et al. (2013) saw no urban-rural gap in overall mental illness, backing Eddie’s view that housing, not geography, drives diagnosis patterns.
Chiang et al. (2013) logged 20 yearly visits for Taiwanese youth; Eddie shows Scottish adults in their own flats rack up the highest outpatient use too.
Why it matters
If your client with ID just moved into an independent flat, plan for more mood or personality issues and schedule extra check-ins.
Use intake forms that flag housing status so you can triage who needs mental-health screening first.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate co-morbid psychopathology and clinical characteristics of adults with ID living across different types of residential settings. All participants were first time referrals to specialist services in South-East London who lived either with their family (N=375) or in supported residence (N=280) or independently (N=95). Psychiatric diagnoses were based on ICD 10 criteria following clinical interviews with key informants and patients. Logistic regression analyses showed that personality disorders were more likely to be diagnosed in people who lived independently or in supported residence, while anxiety disorders were more likely in those living with their family. Overall, those who lived in independent residence had higher rates of co-morbid psychopathology. These effects were independent of ID level and age differences. Younger adults were more likely to live with their families while those with higher ID level were about 17 times more likely to live independently. The largest proportion of referrals to outpatients lived in independent residence although there were no significant differences in other care pathways. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for service planning and development.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.10.015