Adolescents with intellectual disability in residential child care: Double vulnerability

ABSTRACT

Background

Adolescents with intellectual disability in residential child care are a highly vulnerable population. The main goal of this study is to explore the characteristics of young people with intellectual disability in therapeutic residential care (TRC) in Spain and to identify the key variables associated with their referral to these services.

Method

The total sample consisted of 473 young people in residential child care in Spain (63.8% boys), aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 15.32), divided into three different groups for comparison. An ad hoc questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report were used to collect information.

Results

Participants with intellectual disability in TRC presented a higher frequency of externalising problems and risk behaviours than adolescents with disability in general residential programmes. However, it was lower than that of their peers without disability in TRC.

Conclusions

Needs of adolescents with intellectual disability should be assessed before a referral to these facilities, in order to adapt the interventions provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Intellectual disability
• adolescents
• residential child care
• therapeutic residential care
• mental health problems
• risk behaviours

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) of Spain through the National Plan of I + D + i (PSI2015-65229-R and PSI2012-33185). The author Alba Águila-Otero holds a post-doctoral contract from the Severo Ochoa Program for Training in Research and Teaching in Principality of Asturias (BP16061).

Author note

The source of research fundings is specified in the acknowledgements. There is no restriction on free access for this publication. There is no conflict of interest for any of the authors. The first author Águila-Otero coordinated this work, from the recollecting data and data analysis to the writing, review, and editing the manuscript (original draft, manuscript, and revision). Second author, Lázaro-Visa, participated in part of the recollection data, as well as wrote part of the introduction. The last authors, Del Valle and Bravo, are the main researchers of the research projects (project administration and funding acquisition) and participated in the conceptualisation of this article, as well as revision of the manuscript, from the original draft to the final version.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Grant Number PSI2012-33185 and PSI2015-65229-R] and Severo Ochoa Program for Training in Research and Teaching in Principality of Asturias [Grant Number BP16061].