title: The psychological impact of abuse on men and women with severe intellectual disabilities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In other populations, the psychological impact of abuse has been conceptualized as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association (APA), 1994), but little is known about whether this is appropriate for adults with severe intellectual disabilities and very limited communication skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  An informant interview, based on the framework provided by PTSD, but supplemented with additional questions, was developed and was used to elicit the emotional, behavioural and physiological symptoms of alleged abuse in 18 people with intellectual disabilities at three time points: in the 3 months immediately prior to the alleged abuse (Time 1), in the 3 months immediately after the abuse (Time 2) and in the last 3 months prior to interview (Time 3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The reports of the family and carer informants indicated that, following their alleged abuse, the victims experienced marked increases in the frequency and severity of emotional, physiological and behavioural symptoms of psychological distress. Over time, there was some alleviation of these difficulties, but psychological functioning remained severely compromised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the established PTSD framework is appropriate for examining the psychological impact of abuse, some amendments are required to enable clinicians to examine fully the distress of alleged victims with severe intellectual disabilities.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rowsell
authors.forename: I C H
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Clare
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult