Exposure to trauma in childhood or adolescence has been shown to be associated with a variety of deleterious mental health outcomes including, psychotic experiences, 1,2 depression, 3 bipolar disorder 4 and psychosis. 5 Specifically, metaanalyses have shown that those exposed to any form of childhood maltreatment are much more likely to report

Particular difficulties are associated with researching the effects of bereavement on people with IDs. Further work needs to be done to more accurately describe the nature, time-scale, severity and frequency of the symptoms of traumatic grief in people with IDs, in order to improve assessment and treatment of affected individuals.

This carer-based comparison study has revealed that bereaved individuals with ID experience complicated grief symptoms following the death of a parent, with one-third of the bereaved group experiencing 10 or more clinically apparent symptoms. In addition, complicated grief symptoms were more likely to occur with higher rates of bereavement ritual involvement. These findings have both clinical and research implications.