Prevalence and risk markers of behavior problems among adults with intellectual disabilities: A total population study in Örebro County, Sweden

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 1346 - 1356
• Main Author: Lundqvist, Lars-Olov
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aggression; Aggressive/destructive behavior; Antisocial Behavior; At Risk Persons; Autism; Behavior Problems; Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI); Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Palsy; Challenging behavior; Communication Problems; Down Syndrome; Drug Therapy; Epidemiologi; Epidemiology; Female; Foreign Countries; Humans; Incidence; Intellectual deficiency; Intellectual Disability - complications; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders; Mental Disorders - complications; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Retardation; Middle Aged; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Assessment; Self Destructive Behavior; Self-injurious behavior; Self-Injurious Behavior - complications; Self-Injurious Behavior - diagnosis; Sensory Experience; Severity (of Disability); Severity of Illness Index; Sleep; Stereotyped Behavior; Surveys and Questionnaires; Sweden; Young Adult; Sweden; Europe; Aggressive/destructive behavior; Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI); Self-injurious behavior; Stereotyped behavior; Challenging behavior; Human; Handicap; Self injury; Prevalence; Questionnaire; Psychometrics; Developmental disorder; Risk taking; Epidemiology; Mental retardation; Behavioral disorder; Population-based survey; Risk factor; Intellectual deficiency; Adult; Behavior; Stereotypy; Public health; Aggressiveness
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2013.01.010
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379

► Data comprised all adults (n=915) with intellectual disability (ID) in the region. ► Sixty-two percent of the participants had at least one behavior problem. ► Nineteen percent had challenging behaviors. ► The most important risk markers were ID level, autism, and sensory hypersensitivity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of behavior problems among people with administratively defined intellectual disability (ID) and identify possible risk markers for behavior problems using the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI). Sixty-two percent of the ID population (n=915) had a behavior problem (self-injurious, stereotyped, or aggressive/destructive behavior) and 18.7% had a behavior problem identified as challenging behavior, resulting in a prevalence of 80.3 per 100,000 in the base population. The most pronounced risk markers for behavior problems were severity of ID, autism, night sleep disturbances, sensory hypersensitivity, communication dysfunction, social deficits, psychiatry involvement, and psychotropic medication. About 50% of people with behavior problems were on psychotropic drugs. Protective markers were Down's syndrome and, to some extent, cerebral palsy. The results were largely consistent with those reported in previous studies. Findings not previously reported were that prevalence of aggressive/destructive behavior peaked among those ≥70 years. Highlighting groups within a population at particular risk has implications for management and treatment of individuals with behavior problems.