The results demonstrate the potential importance of parental cognitions in influencing parental stress levels. It is argued that these results have implications for clinical interventions for promoting parents' coping strategies in managing children with ID and behavioural difficulties.
People with intellectual disabilities are a group at specific risk during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic because of marked mental and physical health multimorbidity (Cuypers et al., 2020; Turk, Landes, Formica, & Goss, 2020). The social distancing and isolation measures implemented to manage the pandemic are known to impair mental health (Brooks et al., 2020; Torales, O'Higgins, Castaldelli-Maia, & Ventriglio, 2020), and this burden is also likely to be greater for people with intellectual disabilities, because they have generally poorer coping abilities (Courtenay & Perera, 2020). Caring for people with intellectual disability is stressful, leading, even under normal conditions, to high levels of perceived stress and burnout (Panicker &
Background This report describes a group intervention for men with an intellectual disability who have sexually offended or abused others. The group was in response to referrals to a psychology department. The majority of these individuals had not been subject to legal proceedings. Methods A number of assessments were conducted prior to the group, immediately after the group and at 3-and 6-month follow-up. Results Attitudes consistent with offending reduced after participation for most participants, however, these tended to revert to pre-group levels over time. Locus of control became more external after the group treatment, this was contrary to expectations and results obtained with interventions for individuals without an intellectual disability. Knowledge tended to increase after the group, however, problems with the questionnaire used made interpretation of the results difficult. No further incidents of sexual abuse have been recorded by any of the five group members who completed the group, since the start of the group (a period of 1 year to date). Conclusions This group should be seen as a pilot project. However, further therapeutic work is indicated as is theoretical and questionnaire development.
The present survey explored stress in direct-care staff working with people who have learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. A total of 78 (82.7% response rate) staff working in 14 small community houses participated. Houses were selected on the basis of 'expert' (Head of Psychology Services) knowledge of houses where residents were known to display challenging behaviour and houses where there was no known history of challenging behaviour. Residents were assessed by key workers for adaptive behaviour, challenging behaviour and mental health using partially validated questionnaires. Staff completed self-report questionnaires on job demands, anxiety and depression, staff support, and information on the presence/absence of challenging behaviour in their home. Staff working in houses with residents who showed challenging behaviour were significantly more anxious than staff working in houses with no challenging behaviour; they also reported feeling significantly less supported, were less clear about the identification of risk situations and had lower job satisfaction. No differences were found on measures of job demands and depression. Regression analyses exploring the relationships between these variables are discussed along with the implications of the findings.
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