Background: Parenting styles mediate parental stress and child emotions in families of typically developing (TD) children. Our main aim was to study these relations in families of children with Down syndrome (DS), who in past research reported increased parental stress and permissive parenting. Method: Our sample included 100 parents of children…

Background: The diagnosis of intellectual disability in children can produce complex grief-related feelings in their parents. Previous studies have focused on the moment of the diagnosis or the early life of the children, and little research has been conducted on their feelings of grief in adulthood. The objective was to analyse the process of…

Background: This study investigated the psychocultural perspectives concerning family quality of life among Brazilian families with children who have severe or profound intellectual disability. Methods: Individual in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 mothers, selected by convenience, were analysed using a categorical thematic…

Background: Day and community learning centres aim to provide intellectually disabled (ID) people with social support, life skills and greater control over their lives. However, there is little research exploring the benefits of attendance from the perspective of attendees and whether these goals are met. Materials and methods: Unstructured…

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…

Background: The evidence supporting the application of Weiner's motivational model of helping to the behaviour of carers' of people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour is inconsistent. One suggested reason for this is that many studies use stimuli that might generate different responses from those to actual instances of…

Background: Accounting for the effects of knowledge of and experience with autism, the relationships of cognitive attribution (perceived controllability), emotions (anger and sympathy), as well as helping and punitive behavioural intentions towards children with autism were examined. Based on the attribution model, mediating effects of anger and…

Background: Repetitive questions and temper outbursts form part of the behavioural phenotype of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). We investigated the phenomenology of temper outbursts in PWS and their relationship with other PWS behavioural characteristics. Method: Four individuals with PWS were observed (5-10 h), during a number of experimental and…

Background: The current study examines a model relating to the concept of reciprocity and burnout in staff, incorporating previous research findings based upon Weiner's (1980, 1986) cognitive-emotional model linking emotions, optimism and helping behaviour, with the aim of testing the model. Materials: Staff working in community homes within the…

Background: This study evaluates the effects of reminiscence group work on the subjective well-being of ageing people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: The content of the successive group work sessions was manipulated as follows: a control-phase with three "current topics" sessions, an experimental phase with six "reminiscence" sessions and…

Background: This study aims to examine the relationship between how individuals with intellectual disabilities report their own levels of anger, and the ability of those individuals to recognize emotions. It was hypothesized that increased expression of anger would be linked to lower ability to recognize facial emotional expressions and increased…

Background: This study examines the relationship between the topography of challenging behaviour, subsequent attributions and emotional responses, with whether carers use physical intervention and their satisfaction with their intervention. Method: Thirty-seven carers described incidents where a person with an intellectual disability had exhibited…

Aim: This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to identify psychological factors that influenced their assessment of risk and the perceived need for risk management strategies. Method: The vignettes varied in…

Purpose: Research on dynamic risk assessment has developed over the last 10 years and a number of variables have emerged as being possible predictors of future sexual and violent offences. These variables include hostile attitude/anger and compliance with routine. In 2002, Thornton ("Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research & Treatment" 14, 139)…